Valentine's Day Escape Plan
by VampireVelocity
Summary: Bella goes on a blind date but it isn't what she expected. At all. AH
1. Chapter 1

**I wrote this on another website with this prompt:**

You are going on a blind date for Valentine's Day. In case the date is a dud, you have your best friend on standby. Your friend is to call you at 9:30 on the dot. If the date is going well, you answer and use the phrase "I already took care of that." If it's not, you answer and claim your friend has an emergency. The date is going well and your friend calls at 9:30 as planned—only problem is, the friend calls with a real emergency. What is it and what do you do?

* * *

I met my blind date at the restaurant's bar, sipping on my Blue Hawaiian slowly as to not get a head rush. I appraised him as he walked toward me in the outfit he promised he'd wear for me to recognize. Black shirt that was sinfully tight and..plaid pants? Dear God, did he just step out of a golf course? He had shiny, spiked hair that looked really good on him. His face was not too bad, either. Broad shoulders and he was tall. Really tall, as in basketball player tall. Rose never gave me any details about our setup. Strangely enough, he had a backpack with him. Was that a large man-purse?

"Hi, I'm Bella," I said, timidly, as I craned my neck steadily. It became quite uncomfortable, so I looked down, wondering if he thought me pretty. He hadn't called me ugly and run, so I guessed that was a good start.

His eyes, darting left to right, settled on me and he smiled, taking wide steps to come to me. "Hello. I'm Edward." He ran a hand through his non-existent long hair, as if forgetting its length in his nervousness.

I didn't want to over-step by taking his hand, so I grabbed my drink and guided him to go back to the lobby with a slight arm wave and let the attendant know we were both here.

5 minutes later, much to the disgruntlement of everyone else who had been waiting longer, we were called. The host walked us to a table by the window and I could see a beautiful sunset as the beginning to our date. Perhaps, this was a good sign.

What wasn't a good sign, was me tripping and accidentally spilling my drink all over his shirt. I was embarrassed and sure he'd leave me after the awful introduction. He chuckled and shook his head, as if to say it's ok that you're completely uncoordinated. He held up a finger and motioned to the restroom. I stayed close the the restroom, ensuring he didn't give me the slip. This turned out to be smart on my account, since I could see him looking around, eyeing the door. He was now wearing a white sweater with bright red capri pants. He brought a change of clothes in his backpack?

Once he saw me, we were guided toward our table. He helped me into my chair, which I thought was a nice gesture. He clearly had good manners. It made me wonder why he needed a blind date, if that was the case. Other than his imposing height, of course. Our host told us the specials of the day and let us know our server will be with us shortly.

After he sat down, the conversation was stilted and we weren't sure if we should start with the cliched questions. I didn't want to look arrogant and take over the pace, so I picked up my menu, scanning it for anything conversation-worthy. It was probably a bad idea to go to a seafood restaurant when I was allergic to shellfish, but Rose swore we would like each other and she was the one paying for this meal from a gift card she got for Christmas. Such a resourceful friend.

I found very little that appealed to me, since I had no idea what half of the menu items were. Pasta was a good, safe bet.

Our server came over, smiling a little too widely with a long, lingering look on my date. "Hello. I'm Pat. Were you informed of our specials?" He/she purred to him. I wanted to see how he handled this, since I was sitting right there and watched his every detail.

He pulled on the collar of his sweater, seemingly interested in the temperature of the room and not the needy server that I was sure to pummel if our order wasn't taken soon.

Seeing my date was uncomfortable and his prolonged silence irritated me, I cleared my throat a little too loudly, catching other, unwarranted eyes. "Yes, we're aware of the specials. Could we get a couple waters? We need a few minutes." I glared, wondering if my date was going to be scared off from my offended response, and sat back, closing my eyes and feeling the chill of the chair against my back.

So far, this date was not worth the eyebrow waxing and tooth whitening I had prepared for.

After serving up my disgust at the androgynous server, I opened my eyes and glanced back at my date, afraid of his reaction. I was relieved of his response. He had mirth in his eyes and he began to chortle, followed by a full-on belly laugh. I couldn't help but join in, since this was so ridiculous so far.

After we had calmed down, much to the appreciation of our neighboring tables, we wiped our eyes, respectively, and I prayed my cheeks would stop hurting from the abundance of my laughter.

"So. I think that broke the ice, eh?" Was he a Canadian golfer or something?

"Yeah. Do you know what you want to eat?" I was hoping that either the service was off-putting or he was pleasantly allergic to shellfish could dictate the rest of our experience here. I wanted to leave, but figured it would be pretty stupid to do so, since our date was just starting.

No such luck. "Yeah! I love the crab legs here. I come here with my family all the time." I must've looked green, as he added, "I mean, my siblings and I. I'm not married. Divorced, actually."

Why was he divorced? Was it the height? This was intriguing information, but I didn't want to overstep. He seemed fairly normal, bar the golfer pants and abnormal height difference between us. I mean, I was only 5'2″.

"Um. Yeah. This is a great restaurant." I was an incredibly bad liar and beginning our date with one, since his face was disbelieving of my response, was such a bad idea. I wanted to slap my hand against my forehead.

His eyes narrowed, probably because I was acting weird. Luckily, or unluckily, our server came back. However, he/she was professional and acted as stiff as my father's ironed shirts.

Yes, pasta was a great idea. What I hadn't read further on the menu was that it came with hidden shrimp. After I took a big bite, my tongue swelled immediately, causing a severe lack of communication. I couldn't believe my stupidity.

He will never want to see me again.

I pointed to my mouth, after not responding to some question he asked about my line of work. His eyes scrunched together, not immediately putting the pieces of understanding together. Was this so hard? I was going to die and needed medical attention.

Finally, he got it. Perhaps his brain was slow due to his height or something.

We stood up as my phone rang. My eyes teared up, ruining my careful application of mascara that I typically never wear. It said long lasting on the package but the marketing staff are clearly better liars than myself, since they appealed me to purchase their ineffective product.

He guided me out of the restaurant, slapping some money on the table in a hurry, without counting it. Was that a good sign? Was he that prepared with the check's balance or was he too loose with his money? I didn't have time to think about that, since his hand on my lower back lessened my critical thinking skills. It was so nice.

He guided me into his car, hopefully intending to drive me to the hospital. Quickly, he got into his seat and started the engine by pushing a button. Where were the keys?

As he peeled out of the parking lot, my phone rang and answering this was a bad idea. However, my friend would be worried if I didn't answer. I gave him my phone, against my better judgment, and he took it, opening the archaic flip phone and putting it on speaker.

"Hey babe! I know you're on your date and I hope he's not a dud. Hubby told me he's kind of stiff but I figured our guys could overcome it! Anyways, it's 9;30 and I need your help. Find some way to ditch him because I think the private poker game I entered tonight is not so legal and I think I heard some sirens. I'll hide in the kitchen cabinets while they take these guys, who I think might be mafia, away. Jeez! How do I get into these damn situations?" She said this all in one breath and I was horrified that he found out about my choice in friendship like this.

As I glanced at him, out of the corner of my eye because I didn't dare want to see the disgust, I glared at the phone. My tongue was swelling even more and I prayed he would stay with me and not just drop me off at the emergency room entrance like I was preparing my mind for.

"Yes, this is Mr. Stiff. Your friend is unable to talk because she is apparently allergic to shrimp and I'm driving her to the hospital. Stay in the kitchen cabinet and, once she's feeling better, she can pick you up from your…situation."

I wanted the ground to open up and swallow me whole. Yes, I would never see this tall beast of a man never, ever again.


	2. Chapter 2

**I was asked to continue the story and inspiration struck to, at least, provide his point of view. Let me know if you want more...**

* * *

**Edward's PoV**

Damn Emmett and his unhealthy obsession with Rosalie. Why did I have to follow around her meek friend while he's busy with her? _For her safety_, he said. _So Rosalie won't worry_, he said.

How was that my problem, again?

I'd been following her and keeping her safe for about two months now. Emmett had his hands full with Rosalie's gambling addiction and decided to bring her to a private game our organization was hosting. Why he wanted to bring her into the Volturi Mob was anyone's guess. The guy was so whipped.

I knew all of Bella's idiosyncrasies. She never wore makeup unless she went to work and she was always late in putting her garbage can away after the pickup came. Usually, it tended to be one to two days late. And, her temper. My, oh my. Her Italian temper was something only the Gods could produce. She found issues with everything. She chewed out her townhouse's association, who didn't deposit her check on time and it screwed up how she balances her account. Or, when a neighbor's dog did its business on her lawn, watch out.

It was maddening to watch.

I was sitting here, at the hospital's emergency room waiting area, with her sleeping against my shoulder and drooling on my sweater. What a night.

It began with the rehearsal gone wrong. Very few knew, but I love acting in musicals. I was currently in a production called Caddyshack. Practice ran late, so I didn't have time to change into my normal clothes. I couldn't imagine what she thought of my ridiculous outfit. Luckily, she didn't outwardly comment but I saw her eyes widen in curiosity. I internally rolled my eyes at the typical reaction I get at my height. So what I'm a freak? It keeps me employed.

Then, we got called to be seated and she spilled her drink on me. The night was already downhill and this confirmed my need to leave. I could watch her from a distance.

Instead, I smiled, letting her know it was alright when, in reality, it definitely wasn't. I went to the bathroom to change. Apparently, one of my fellow actors decided to pull a prank and put a white Mickey Mouse sweater and bright red capri pants into my backpack, which I had to bring in with me since my holster would've shown.

Making the best of the situation, I turned the sweater inside out and put it on backwards. With as much dignity as possible, I left the bathroom and was pretty close to walking out the door. I had every intention of texting her that it didn't work out but, alas, she was waiting for me.

Damnit.

So, we went to the table. The server flirted with me and the room's temperature, thanks to the thick sweater, was overwhelming me. My forehead perspired and she was looking at me to diffuse the situation. I had no idea how and, once again, saw the effect of her temper.

She chewed that server out and, honestly, I was glad. It was a distraction from my overheating nightmare.

I noticed her lie about liking the restaurant but I couldn't figure out why. I was fairly restricted in how much I could tell her about myself, so I made up some siblings.

Of which I had none. Nor had I ever been married. The thought was nauseating.

I was itching to get out of there, since I could see some associates of ours in the next room but, luckily, they couldn't see us. I didn't need them to know I was babysitting.

She seemed to warm up to being there until the shrimp debacle. Why did she order seafood if she was allergic? Was she slow or something?

I rushed her out and got her into my car, gallantly rushing her to the hospital. I knew my height was intimidating, but to answer her crazy old phone and hearing stupid Rosalie call me stiff pissed me off.

I told her so. My tone of voice was enough of a strong hint.

I could see the dejected look on Bella's face but I was so mad at the situation. What was she upset about? Not being able to speak, hearing her friend was in trouble, pissed she was being asked to be rescued and not able to do it, or all of the above? It couldn't possibly be her wanting more time with me. Not after all that happened tonight.

I'm doing Rosalie and Emmett a favor. Granted, Bella has grown on me, she's actually quite sweet and could fit into my world with her temper alone. But did I want that for her? Nope. She would drive me nuts.

Given that, I should've just left her alone at the hospital and told Emmett to find some other idiot to _keep her safe_.

Then, why am I sitting here while she's drooling on me? Because I'm a glutton for punishment. Clearly.

I love her. In the two months of watching her, it's been fascinating. Temper be damned, she's become a part of me, whether I want her there or not.

Damn Emmett. I owe him.


	3. Chapter 3

**I made an outline, so there's _finally_ some structure coming up. I hope you like it and reviews make my day.**

**All characters belong to Stephanie Meyers. I forgot to include that in the last two chapters.**

* * *

**Bella's PoV**

I woke up, startled by someone shaking me. I slowly opened my eyes and found my tongue was swollen. The nights events came back to me and the subject of said mortification was the one shaking me.

Part of me was glad he stayed. The other part of me was logical enough that there's no way he'd ever be interested in me, seeing the drool I left on his shoulder.

Kill. Me. Now.

I stood up with his helping hand, not wanting to look him in the eye. There's only so much embarrassment a girl can handle. I quickly checked my flip phone and saw we'd been waiting for 4 hours. Shoulders squared and chin up, I walked toward the nurse that called my name.

Strangely enough, Edward decided to help me walk, even though I was clearly capable of walking alone. His arm around me felt nice, so I let it go. The question was, why was he following me in?

We walked into a small room and a nurse showed me to a seat.

"So, I see you experienced an allergic reaction. Do you have any symptoms?"

I blinked my eyes in frustration. I wrote down that my tongue was swollen! Seeing that I wasn't going to answer, she checked the paperwork and her cheeks flushed.

"My apologies." She grabbed a tong and squatted in front of me. "Please say aaah." Like I wasn't already familiar with this.

I did as she asked, though, not wanting to experience any medical ire. "Mmm, hmm. I see," she commented. What did that mean?

I waited 4 hours for this. When did I get to see an actual medical doctor? No offense, but I needed drugs for my allergic reaction. I'd like to be able to talk. I didn't think that was asking much. Thank goodness that was the only problem I had.

She removed the tong from my mouth and threw it away. Silence as she wrote something down in the medical file. I was getting antsy and still hadn't looked at Edward.

That was incredibly foolish. I'm a grown woman and a man shouldn't intimidate me, no matter how handsome he was. He was standing to my right. I slowly tilted my head in his direction and, once again, craned my neck to see his face. He wasn't looking at me, though. He was glaring at the nurse. What was his problem?

I looked back at the nurse, who was clearly uncomfortable. She left the small room that had grown suffocating rather abruptly. I was irritated at his action but could not voice my anger. I would yell at him later.

The nurse came back, not meeting either of our eyes, and told us to follow her. We got up and walked through another door.

I saw several occupied stalls, all covered by light blue curtains with shower rings at the top, so they can be opened and closed easily. There was coughing and moaning. I was worried I'd come out worse than when I came in. How many infectious diseases were in here?

Edward held on to my arm and I had no idea what his purpose for staying with me was. We were led to the third stall. The nurse pointed me to sit on the bed and hurried out of there. After the nurse left us, I turned to Edward to give him a piece of my mind. Instead, I saw he had his backpack with him and I wanted to laugh but I couldn't. That was so unfair.

The doctor came in, looking from me to my giant companion. He was average in height, weight, and looks. I could see heavy bags under his eyes and wondered if his prognosis would be correct or if he'd mistake me for another patient and give me the wrong medication.

"Well, hello there. I'm Dr. Handle. I looked over your chart and you had an allergic reaction, correct?" He looked from me to Edward, and just stared, probably wondering if he should get an autograph.

"Who might you be? We only allow family in here with the patients."

Edward didn't miss a beat. "I'm her fiance. Will that be a problem?" Say what?

"Yes, that's fine." Once again, I had tongs shoved down my throat and the prognosis was, in fact, an allergic reaction. Seriously? He scribbled an illegible note, confirming a possible prescription gone wrong. "The nurse will perform an injection of epinephrine and you should be all set." He smiled warmly and turned to move on to his next patient.

I waited 4 hours for _this_?

The good doctor left before I could kick him. Several minutes later, the lovely nurse came and strangled my upper arm with some rubber back. Yes, that will cause quite a bruise. She injected the medicine, quickly removing the offending rubber and giving my arm the ability to circulate blood. Yay. I got to keep my arm and it didn't fall off.

"C'mon," Edward said. He helped me down from the seat, even though my feet were able to touch the floor while sitting. What was with him?

He guided me through the double doors and into his car. I was slightly tilting and decided to lean on my supposed fiance, so that he could help me walk. Instead, he brought me to his car in his arms and I felt like a princess.

Did I mention I was a tomboy while growing up? This was not my ideal position in our prolonged first date.

He brought me home and I didn't question how he could possibly have known my address without looking at my driver's license with one of the worst pictures ever taken of my person. I wasn't sure if this was a good or bad thing.

Taking me into his arms again with my head bobbing into his underarm, he somehow opened my townhouse and led me into my bedroom. I didn't explain where it was, so how did he know the layout? I would think about this later. All I wanted now was to sleep in deep comfort.

* * *

I woke sometime at day o'clock, not sure what exact time it was. My flip phone wasn't on my nightstand and I had a pounding headache. My mouth tasted awful, typical of morning breath and I moved to stand so I could perform my daily human functions.

Happy that it was Sunday, I opened the door, only to scream in terror at finding a handsome man relieving himself. What was he doing here? Why didn't he go home? I was mortified and was sure I looked terrible. No one looks good in the morning. No way.

I realized, at that moment, that I was still staring at his manhood and should turn away. Instead, I was fixated.

"Could I have a little privacy?" He calmly requested. This was much calmer than how I would've handled the situation, provided the tables were turned.

I blushed beet red and finally got a hold of my faculties, disbelief and embarrassment were arguing in my head. I slammed the door closed, running away into the kitchen and wanting to hide in one of the cabinets, just like Rose.

Rose! I wonder if she got arrested. Once I found my phone, I'll check to see if she tried to call me with the one phone call they give prisoners.

I heard the door open and his feet padded along the floor. There was nowhere to hide, really, and I belatedly realized my hands were covering my face. I saw him through a couple of slightly open fingers. My face moved up and my hands removed themselves. I cringed at his reaction, only to see amusement on his face.

How did he find this funny?

"Well, that was a nice good morning. I need to leave to wa...never mind. I need to get going. Are you feeling better?"

I simply nodded, not trusting my voice to break like a boy going through puberty. I stared at him while he went back into the bedroom to put on his clothes. Wait. He slept _with me_, in my bed, in his _underwear_? He found this to be completely appropriate after one date? I am certainly not a floozy, no matter how handsome he was.

Regardless, I was still speechless and watched him put on his jacket and shoes, confirming his imminent departure. Strangely, I felt as if I should have thanked him for taking care of me last night or asked him to spend the day with me. I didn't want to seem desperate, though, and I needed to figure out what happened to Rose.

Deep in my thoughts, I heard him say goodbye and shut the door behind him. Was I so lost in my head that I didn't even bother saying anything? Wow, that was a new low for me.

I opened the door, only to have found him driving away before I could call him back. Very anticlimactic.


	4. Chapter 4

**I hope you like it and reviews make my day.**

**All characters belong to Stephanie Meyers.**

* * *

**Bella's PoV**

I called Rose but she didn't answer and the phone went to voicemail after a couple of rings. I decided to call the sheriff's office on Monday if I still hadn't heard from her by then. She couldn't still be locked in a kitchen cabinet. I really hoped not.

I cleaned my home for the rest of the day, keeping my mind from dramatizing last nights' events. Once I finished cleaning, I tried to watch TV but there was nothing good on any of the 300 channels I subscribed to. All the books I owned had already been read multiple times and the library was closed.

I was a very frugal person, even though I earned a good salary. Why spend money on books when I could just as well borrow them? I didn't buy them. I waited until someone bought them for me or got me a gift card. Yep. Sad, but true.

I stared out the window after I was unable to find anything to garner my interest. I could've sworn I saw Edward across the street but when I did I second glance, there was no one there. That had to be my imagination. He had plenty of other things to do besides watch me. That would've been so creepy.

The rest of the day was spent lounging around and taking a very long nap, since I couldn't find anything to do with my time. Sadly, that caused me to not be able to sleep at night and I found a few infomercials to watch until I passed out.

* * *

After waking due to the loud shrill of my alarm, one of the few extra uses of my archaic phone, I went to stand. Except, I fell off the couch and landed on my tailbone.

Son of a...damn.

Crawling over to my bathroom and giving my knees rug burn in the meantime, I used all means necessary to help me stand.

Easier said than done. Once I was standing, I hobbled to the shower and turned it on to as hot as I could handle. Steam filled the room and I stepped into my version of heaven.

After spending way too long getting ready, I left my townhouse with toast in my mouth. Sitting in the car, during rush hour, with a hurt tailbone was brutal.

I arrived at my office, hurrying to the peaceful silence that I was sure to get once I could close the door. Alas, peace was not meant for me today.

My assistant, Jessica, screeched her greeting and followed me all the way in. She kept on and on, my ears were going to bleed if her voice didn't waver.

I hung up my coat, careful to choose my words, since I didn't want to be reported to HR again.

"Jess, could you please get me a coffee? I have such a headache." Thankfully, she would do whatever she could to get a promotion, so she quickly nodded and scampered away.

I didn't drink coffee. Ever. But I needed peace.

After spending a few minutes pondering the best way to block all knowledge of this weekend, since purging wasn't an option, I got busy. As the editor of a magazine whose niche was sports, I had to laugh at the irony of his pants. I wondered if I'd ever find out why he wore them.

After spending the day in meetings and arguing with a multitude of idiots, my day finished as soon as the clock read 5:01pm. I rushed out the door, because I was in a hurry to sit in rush hour traffic again.

Sarcasm, you rule my life.

I was now the proud owner of an epi pen. I never had one before because I always avoided seafood. Go figure.

I got home and realized I still hadn't heard from Rose. I listened to my voice mail and breathed out a huge sigh of relief. Apparently, she is well and wants me to come over tonight. Since I didn't have anything else going on, I headed over there without bothering to confirm.

I should've confirmed. Yeah.

I used the key to her apartment after not getting any response from all the painful knocking.

She and Emmett were...um, busy. I ran out the door, not sure if I closed hers, and took deep breaths in the solitude of my car.

Geez. My life was turning into a soap opera.

A knock on my window scared the living daylights out of me. I jumped and yelped in surprise.

I turned to see Edward was the one knocking. What was he doing here? And, how did he know where I was? Was this a case of being at the right place at the right time or was he stalking me? As crazy as it was, I kind of hoped it was both.

"Hi," I greeted him. Couldn't I come up with something more fun? Like, you're looking so hot today! Nah, maybe hi was plenty in my mental state after seeing the lovebirds doing...love.

"Hey. I was just about to pick up Emmett. Is he up there?" He pointed his thumb behind his shoulder, as if it was able to climb the stairs or take the elevator by itself. Its length was distracting, but I had to concentrate on the rest of his conversation or else I'd make even more of a fool of myself than I had already.

"Uh, you may want to stay with me until he comes down. They're...preoccupied." I hoped I didn't sound desperate. I really did want to get to know him better in a less awkward situation. He was probably a great guy when not wearing goofy clothes and possibly dribbling. I still had yet to find out if he played basketball or if it was a myth that all tall people did that.

He understood immediately and I was so thankful I didn't have to explain. My face felt like it was on fire from embarrassment as it was. I looked down and rocked my feet back and forth, trying to figure out how to keep him talking to me instead of whipping out a crossword puzzle.

No such luck. He didn't offer and I was clueless. "Well, I'll just be over there. Going to my car. You know- so I can go home. Because that's what people use cars for." Yep, ground, you can swallow me now. I was the biggest dork on the planet. He was grinning but not saying anything. I left and ran. Well, I swiftly walked.

* * *

I caught up with Rose the next day. We went to lunch at this yuppie bistro that served overpriced muffins and breads. I'll have to get lunch afterwards. I wasn't a toothpick and had no desire to become one. A woman has to have some kind of meat on her bones. And, this woman was a happy size 8. I sure as hell wasn't going to buy a $3.99 little muffin with a $4.65 coffee, either.

"So, Bella, how was the date with stiffy? I wish we got together sooner, but you know how it goes." She was so casual about being one of the causes to the failure of my almost demise. He was tall, handsome, and pale. Really tall.

"Um, it was ok." Understatement of the century. It was action packed, dramatic, and comedy galore. Ok, it was a disaster, too. I was still trying to figure out why he called me his fiance and stayed. He acted like he knew me and cared about me. Who does that on the first date?

She raised one eyebrow, not believing me at all. I was such a bad liar, I had no idea why I even bothered trying.

"Ok, it was fabulous and horrible at the same time." I proceeded to tell her about the disaster. She roared with laughter and caught some annoyed looks from the tables near us. Some of them were laughing with her, too, though.

"Only you, Bella, Only you. So, are you going to see him again? She had this gleam in her eye, as if she knew something I didn't. Well, she probably did, considering she orchestrated the damn date.

"We actually didn't get much talking done after the hospital and subsequent sleepover. I'm at a loss with him. I have no idea what he thinks of me, other than a complete lunatic with too many issues. I can't figure him out, at all. Did he say anything to Emmett?" Ok, I was fishing for information but I really wanted to know.

She had this wicked gleam in her eye but I knew she wasn't going to tell me anything. "Nope, not a thing." Sadly, she was a great liar and I believed her because the alternative of him wanting to see me again was pretty much nil.


	5. Chapter 5

**I hope you like it and reviews make my day.**

**All characters belong to Stephanie Meyers.**

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**Bella's PoV**

For the next month, it was the same old, same old with a twist. So, I guess not same old. Strange things kept popping up and I could've sworn I saw Edward! I got flowers at midnight randomly and the most prominent of these strange things was actually very welcome.

Aro Volturi, who had beady little eyes and a wicked persona, wanted me to do an interview for him about himself. Somewhat narcissistic, I told him I wasn't a journalist anymore. Nope, I was middle management, as much as I cringed at that. I was the proud editor of the sports history department, which was as lame as it gets.

I had no interest in sports altogether. So, this was a little exciting. Especially since Aro didn't do interviews, so I had no idea why he found me. Ok, yes I did. In college, I wrote a big piece on the mafia families and their history for my thesis. It was published and a lot of people took notice. There were threats while I was writing it, but all stopped after the publish.

That's what helped land me a job with Sports Galore, Inc. Awesome.

We set up an initial meeting this Friday during lunch as a meet and greet. I dreamt about the FBI calling me to be an inside spy or someone swooping in and saving me from a big, bad wolf in a Versace suit. I was so excited and scared at the same time. It was a huge opportunity, since I was never able to interview anyone from the mafia families for my thesis.

* * *

Friday morning came and I was on pins and needles all morning. Jessica was wary of me and stayed away. Thank the lord she understood body language and my snapping at her. I couldn't chance being too angry when I finally met him.

At 11:00am, I rushed out the door and caught a cab to the restaurant. It wasn't a long walk, but I was in heels and needed to meet him at 11:15, so that gave me very little time to get there and calm my breathing.

At 11:16, I walked in the door, cringing at my tardiness. I hoped he wasn't upset. It was the little things they concentrated on as a measure of respect. I failed by a minute. It wasn't my fault there was an accident and everyone had a slice of gawker syndrome!

Ok, it was my fault. I should've left earlier. My bad.

He was already seated at a table and stood as he saw me. I couldn't read his face, it was as if he had a permanent poke face on. I could see why this kept him out of jail. Part of my thesis covered this body lan...

"Hello, Isabella. I trust your day has been well?" I nodded, since I had to stop my internal musings to concentrate on our conversation and not screw it up.

"Yes, it has. Thank- thank you for asking. It's very nice to meet you. Yours?" Mr. Big Mafia Man, meet dork-a-lot.

"Oh fine, fine." He waved off my question as if it was extra and unnecessary, but I was cordial in absolute truth. There were no misgivings nor falsities about my regard to his well being!

Drama, drama.

"So, I actually have a few questions for you and then I will escort you to my home. We have some business I need to talk to you about and I'd rather have privacy for that."

"I apologize, but I need to get back to work after our lunch. I can't just make my own hours." Technically, I could, but he didn't need to know that.

"Considering I own the majority of the magazine you work at as a silent partner, I'd say it would be fine for one afternoon. Don't you?" He wasn't giving in and had me in a corner. I couldn't make up anything. Not even a cat who needed to be fed or a long, lost daughter I just found out about.

"Oh, ok. Sure, I guess." I complied. It didn't feel right, there was something off about his request that sure sounded like a demand instead.

We finished lunch after he asked me a barrage of questions, never once stopping to allow me to ask him anything. I could see this is why he was the leader. He never gave anything away. I had as much information about him after the lunch as I did before it.

Exiting the restaurant, there was a black car waiting for us in the no parking zone that the traffic cop neglected to ticket as he walked by. Was that seriously one of the perks of being in organized crime?

We made the 30 minute trip over to his home into the boonies. Unless I had a specific ride, there was no way to walk out of there and get to civilization. This was making me very, very nervous.

We arrived and were dropped off at the door. The driver pulled away and went into a wide garage. The door to the house opened as we walked up the three steps. A butler greeted us. He had platinum blonde hair that was in a low ponytail. He looked so familiar, but I couldn't place him.

"Would you like a refreshment, Ms. Swan?" He was such a gentleman.

"Yes, please. Some water would be great."

Aro led me into his study, motioning for me to take a seat on the couch to ease my nerves, I supposed. He sat down in a chair in front of me and put his hands on his thighs after he crossed his legs. The position was so laid back that I wanted to laugh. Aro was a very influential man and he was sitting here so casually with me.

The butler came in and brought me my water. I hoped it wasn't laced with a drug or, worse, truth serum.

"When we walked in the door, it verified you are not wearing any recording or spyware devices. I apologize, but steps must be taken to avoid certain delicate conversation with the wrong people. You know about that, don't you?"

I was at a loss as to how to respond. It had been a few years since I did my thesis, so what was he talking about? My eyebrows shifted toward one another and my nose scrunched up in my confusion.

"I don't understand. What is it you wanted to talk to me about in private? I have to admit, this is a little strange."

"What are you doing with Edward?" What was his concern with Edward? More importantly, how did he know Edward?

"What? Who? I mean, what about Edward?" I didn't want to give anything away, yet I gave it all away by that statement.

He gave me this knowing look, although I wasn't sure what was so knowing about it.

"Ms. Swan, I don't have time for games. Are you going to marry Edward or not?" I almost sprayed out my drink at him.

"What?" I screeched, standing up in horror. Marriage terrified me, I saw it with my divorced parents and didn't need the headache. As far as I was concerned, I didn't need to marry someone to be with them for the rest of our lives.

"Please, sit down." It was a mandatory suggestion. I sat back on the couch, this time my back was straight and my entire body was tense. My eyes were darting back and forth between him and the door. I wondered how far I'd get if I tried to run. Surely, I could befriend one of his drivers to take me home?

"Ms. Swan. We are Italian. You are Italian. Edward is mostly Italian, but I don't hold that against him." We heard a pounding on his office door. Sure enough, speak of the devil and he shall appear.

"Aro? What is going on? Edward demanded, which was so stupid. You can't talk to the Volturi mafia boss like that!

Aro calmed stood, holding out a finger to tell me he will be with me in a moment. He straightened his suit and turned toward the idiot.

Aro went to stand in front of him and spoke in a strong but soft whisper. "Edward, I believe I am having a private conversation. Is there anything dangerous or a high priority that cannot absolutely wait?" I waited to find out why the heck Edward was even here to begin with and how he could've possibly gotten through the high security here. Even the creepy butler seemed like a black belt.

Edward's voice was not as soft. "Aro, surely you cannot be doing what I think you're doing. Please. We've only had one date. We cannot marry right now!" Say what?

"Please leave, Edward, and let me handle this. You need to put on your nice suit and go upstairs. Alice will get you ready for your big day." I guessed Edward was celebrating something. Maybe it was his birthday? I felt bad for not knowing and would've gotten him a gift for his bir...

"Now, Ms. Swan, where was I?"

"I believe you were proposing to me on behalf of Edward. What is going on? How do you even know Edward?" Edward was not in any part of my thesis, I was sure of that.

"Surely you know my nephew, Eddie? You wrote about him. Not very extensively, but somehow you found out he exists. We cannot have that tie in the open. Now, you need to marry him and then you can get to know him later. No worries at all. Think of this as a pre-approval for a marriage arrangement. Yes?"

My mind was going a mile a minute, swirling in confusion. So, Edward was related to the mob. No, Edward was the mob. He didn't tell me that! Oh yeah, Bella, how was he going to bring that into our conversation?

"What about his ex-wife? Or siblings? I didn't write about them." Aro looked confused, not understanding my question.

"Edward doesn't have an ex-wife nor any siblings. He's an only child. Where did you get this information? Your resource is factually incorrect." He looked annoyed at having to provide this information. Yeah, my resource was definitely lying.

"Apparently so. I guess I have no choice? I have to marry Edward?" I guessed it could've been worse. It could've been the butler.

"Yes." The was an understanding of what would happen if I didn't marry him. I'd be six feet in the ground and, unlike Uma Thurman, I wouldn't be able to climb my way out of a coffin.

That is how I found myself dressed in a white gown and walking down the aisle with Aro at my side toward my future.

* * *

There was no honeymoon, no further explanations, and only a simple marriage certificate. How they got a priest so quickly, I had no idea. We had one official photograph of the two of us and one of Aro and I. The rest of the family was elsewhere, doing whatever they did in their lives. Unlike myself.

I was informed that I no longer had a job nor my townhouse. All was gone and I was moving in to Edward's house. Apparently, that was on these grounds about a mile away from the main house. It was a cute little cottage and had plenty of room for grandchildren, Aro stressed.

Apparently, I had to provide at least one heir, since Aro did not have any living children. I stress the word living. This was ridiculous. As handsome and nice as Edward was, even I was overwhelmed and he eyed me and the door multiple times. I saw Aro pull him aside a few times and whisper something in his ear. He would nod his head and agree, though I could see him fighting a losing battle.

My things were moved in at the end of the weekend. I was to go on the internet, supervised by a woman who looked like a little girl, to buy things for our home. It was already stocked with women's clothes, food, and anything else I'd need. I guessed this was their way of giving me some freedom. Yeah, right. I felt suffocated.

I didn't order anything, I didn't need anything. I told them to just put everything from my townhouse into storage. I had no idea if they even bothered or just threw everything away.

Edward wasn't home all that often. He refused to even hug me after the wedding, let alone anything more. How was I supposed to produce an heir, exactly?

I had enough after three weeks. A woman can only take so much and Alice wasn't exactly someone to trust. She was nice but still, she was employed by a demon who forced me to marry. I understood why he did it. Anyone exposed to the family had to join or...else.

Sucks to be me, kinda.

I wasn't able to contact Rose or anyone else. I was sure they were worried and had called the police by now. Surely someone from the restaurant saw us leaving? Aro was a public figure, it didn't take a rocket scientist to recognize him.

I corned Edward when he finally came home one night.

"I get that we weren't married by choice, but we can try to make the best out of this situation. What is your issue? Am I not enough to be married to? Am I so far out of your league that you can't even fathom to have a conversation with me?" I was so angry, my face was sure to be very red. My ears felt like they had smoke blowing out of them.

"I'm trying to figure out a way to get a divorce! I don't want this for you!" Well, that was a punch to the gut. Was I that bad of a person to be married to? My morning routine left a lot to be desired but-

"Are you serious? You don't want...me?" My voice was soft and to the point of a whisper, but he heard me clearly.

* * *

**I was going to stop here with a cliffy, but I'm a nice person...**

* * *

"I don't want you to live this life! Have you been having lots of fun, cooped up in here? Not enjoying going out or working? I like going out. I just don't want to be tied to you and you don't want to be tied to me. Can you honestly say you'd have married me had I asked you?" He had me there. I didn't want marriage but I did want to get to know him better.

"Would it be so bad to try and make the best of this?" I asked. His eyes softened, and it looked like our first fight was over. He went to stand in front of me and put his hands on my shoulders. He kissed me with just a brush of his lips on mine, but it was nice to finally be touched by another human. Alice kept her distance. Plus, she wasn't my husband.

My first husband. Wow. I just couldn't get over my marriage to this beautiful hunk of a man. Yes, he towered over me but I couldn't imagine it being easy to married to me. So, yeah. I think he finally gave in.

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	6. Chapter 6

**I hope you like it and reviews make my day.**

**All characters belong to Stephanie Meyers.**

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**Bella's PoV**

Life got better after that. No, I didn't get pregnant. We tried plenty, though. In fact, I found out some disturbing information. I had some condition going on with my ovaries that would make it a miracle to have kids. So, I felt like I was defective. Edward said he was fine with it, which made me feel better. My eggs were intact, so we decided to let nature take its course and find a surrogate or adoption.

It was easier said than done.

We tried to find a teen girl who couldn't afford a baby. This proved to not be as easy as I thought. I figured, if I was a teenager and got pregnant, why would I keep a baby that I wouldn't be able to manage? Easy, right? Wrong.

Then we thought about foster care. Aro said no. Sigh.

Even though we made many decisions in our marriage, Aro seemed to think it was okay to interfere. It wasn't. Edward and I were both very much on the same page. So, it probably wasn't our best idea to confront him and it was even more of a bad idea that I decided to do it without Edward while he was "working."

I didn't bother with Butler Caius and walked in, knocking on Aro's study. I didn't know what he did, but he spent a lot of time in there. Granted, it was almost guaranteed that he was doing something illegal, but I couldn't prove it and would rather eat dirt for the rest of my than try to catch him. Hell no.

Then, a miracle stumbled upon us. Literally. Aro had Edward come with him somewhere. I wasn't privy to any details, which I was 100% okay with. No way was I going down if Aro went down. The only thing I was interested in was human trafficking and Aro said he didn't do that. Edward parroted that later, so I believed it.

Back to the miracle. A stranded couple arrived to the house, asking to see Aro. Creepy Caius, CC, wouldn't let them in until I did. I was grocery shopping in the main house, since I was too lazy to go order anything. Sad, right?

They had nowhere to go. Later on, Aro verified their fingerprints in his FBI hacked database. I couldn't prove it, but I think he got access and didn't hack in. Aro was not that smart. I couldn't understand how they got past the security but Aro told me not to worry about it. They were clean, he said.

In order for them to stay, they had to provide surrogacy. At first, I was torn. This wasn't exactly a business arrangement, although Aro seemed to think it was that easy. Strangely enough, they agreed. I should've seen that as a red flag but I didn't, since I was so excited about finally having a baby to take care of and raise.

Tony and Marie Bartlett were their names. Yep, like the pears.

Marie was artificially inseminated with my egg and Edward's sperm. On the third try, it was success. By the fifth month, she still wasn't showing and I smelled a rotten egg by the name of Aro. Something stunk and I was betting on him.

I barged into his office, not caring he had some politician or whoever on his conferencing screen.

"Aro. I need to speak with you." I said this as calmly as I could, given that I ran here from the cottage and my chest was heaving for breath.

He turned to the person with the bad toupee and told him to contact him later. That done, he turned to me and smiled, as if he read my mind and knew what I wanted to know. Only one way to find out.

"Aro, do you know why Marie, if that's even her name, isn't actually pregnant like she said she was?" I questioned his intellect. Surely he knew she was an imposter of some kind?

"Bella, dear," he said condescendingly, "I know you want a baby. I just wanted to help you along."

And then it made sense.

* * *

It turned out, Aro found out a couple who can't conceive get stressed out, making a difficult situation near impossible. So, he thought if he could get rid of the stress, we'd be more likely to get pregnant. He thought wrong.

I was absolutely pissed and demanded a vacation. Edward understood and told me he would tie up some loose ends and would take me somewhere. Anywhere was better than here.

* * *

Edward's PoV

Damn Aro. He just had to stick his nose where it didn't belong. He didn't know about the birth control I put Bella on. I took her to the doctor to have her flu shot, but paid off the doctor to give her the Depo-provera shot instead.

Then, I had to pay off yet another doctor to say it was a condition with her ovaries. I felt bad about lying, but I was sure she didn't want a kid. Maybe she wanted to be with me, but mob life was stressful enough without worrying about more than a wife. I'm still wary on why she wants to stay with me but she really shouldn't.

I was a bad, bad person. I still hadn't told her about the musical, which was opening this weekend. She should know and I should tell her. How was I even going to bring something like this up?

I figured this was going to be a sink or swim deal. Hopefully, she'd still want to be married to me.

Friday night was the opening and I was so nervous. Not because of stage fright. No. I was afraid of my wife. Her temper was still the stuff of legends. I'd been going to rehearsals and telling her I was working. I hated lying but this was genuinely important.

I told her I had a surprise planned and took her out for lunch in the city. We had a great time, as usual, though I think she noticed my nervousness.

"Why are you so nervous? We've lived together long enough for me to know you better than yourself." I shook my head, asking her to drop it. Nope, she wouldn't. "Your forehead is perspiring and you keep looking every which way. You were green earlier, although I initially thought that was from the food. I know you hate asparagus."

I did. The stuff was awful.

"So?" she prompted. Ok, here goes nothing and everything.

"I'll surprise you tonight. Ok?" That should've worked. It didn't. She had one eyebrow cocked, waited for me to expand. "Please?" I must've looked pitiful, because she took a long sigh and shook her head slightly to herself, mumbling something about how I was going to be the death of her.

A few hours later, I had taken her shopping and dropped her off at the theater, telling her my special surprise was going to be there. She was intrigued and was excited to be going to a musical. Hadn't she ever been to one?

I guided her to her seat and left to go do what I needed to do for my surprise. She waved me off, but the fact there were other people sitting on each side of her and not having a seat for me clued her in a little. Damn, I should've planned better.

I went backstage and had them put my makeup and dress me quickly. I got into my acting headspace and needed to concentrate to remember my lines and stances. It wasn't easy to act, it was even harder with my wife in the audience. My pants were going to be soiled at this rate.

Some breathing exercises later and I was ready to rock.

* * *

The show went great and the look on my wife's face was pleasantly happy. There were no other words for it. She gave me a great big hug and kiss afterwards. I couldn't believe it went so well!

Then, she slapped me for lying to her and keeping it from her. She said she would've been happy to support me in this. Who would've expected that? I didn't.

I knew I'd feel her temper tonight, at least a little. Damnit.

We got home and celebrated as married couples do. We made buttered popcorn and watched the LOST series. It was awesome.

* * *

Bella's PoV

After the Aro debacle and the surprise of the century musical, my stress level was getting pretty high. I needed relaxation, not drama. I wanted my husband to stop brooding over this or that, I wanted him. Just him. Was that so much to ask from a wife? I put my foot down after his musical performances were done.

I came at him when he was at his most vulnerable.

"Edward?" I said, shyly.

"Yeah!" he screamed. "What's up, my wife? I can barely hear you while I'm in the shower. You know this!" Yep, I knew. But I had his attention, instead of him focusing on anything else.

"When are we going on our vacation? You promised, remember?" I could just feel his eyes rolling up, mocking my desire to leave. I didn't get out much. When I did, I was watched like a hawk by Aro's vultures or the federal crime unit. I was sure someone was writing their thesis on me. Ok, maybe I wasn't that important.

"Wife, I'm trying. Let's talk tonight and get it all straightened out, okay? I'll try to get some time off." I knew he said this to appease me and placate my want, but I wasn't having it.

"Actually, I already talked to Aro. Before you get mad, he said it was fine and even saw our itinerary. We leave tonight. Isn't that exciting!" I tried to sound really happy, but they way his eyes glowed fiercely when he opened the shower door made me think I was wrong to go behind his back.

"You what!" he bellowed. "You went behind my back to get what you want, no matter what?"

This was where my patience ran out. My hand shot out to count my reasons. "Number one, you got me married. Two, you withheld pretty much everything from the moment I met you and lied. Three, you promised me this a long time ago and still haven't delivered. And, number four, my favorite, you didn't even bother telling me you were in a musical until the very last second. You want to stay mad, still?"

He looked absolutely chastised and confused as to how I came out on top. He finally looked down and huffed, conceding to me. Always, Edward. We're married now and you are mine.

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	7. Chapter 7

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**All characters belong to Stephanie Meyers.**

* * *

**Bella's PoV**

As much as I didn't communicate with my parents, I still missed them. They didn't talk to each other at all, so it was a tug of war while I was growing up. That's what I didn't want for my marriage. If Aro hadn't forced my hand, I probably would never have gotten married.

Still, that didn't change the fact that I missed them. I knew everyone here would not be happy if I contacted them, since this was a new life and I left the old one behind. No one had my information, not even Rose.

Rose! I hadn't thought about her for so long and it made me feel like such a horrible friend. I wondered what she was doing. Was she still dating Emmett or did she get the same old relationship nerves? She always refused to get serious in a relationship. If I thought I was bad at marital outlook, Rose was worse. Still, perhaps Emmett might have been what she'd needed all along.

Back to my parents. Rules were made to be broken. Someone famous and intelligent said that, since everyone knew the phrase. I waited until everyone trusted me and left me, since I never ventured away from the rules. The computer, luckily, had internet access. It probably monitored my activities, but by the time I wrote and sent it, it would be too late!

Dear Mom (forward to Dad, please),

I hope you're doing well. I know I haven't been in touch. I've moved and established a new life. It's time for me to put myself ahead and do what I want. Please don't look for me, I like where I am and am enjoying myself. Eventually, I may contact you. I'm not sure when, though. I just want you to know I am safe and well.

I love you both.

Bella

I hit send with a sad heart. I wanted to say so many more things, but my alone time was limited. Trusted or not, I was still not left alone for too long. Alice was my constant shadow and it was good she had human needs, like a bathroom break.

* * *

Aro offered to have Alice arrange everything but I didn't trust her, although I wasn't sure why. I booked us a trip to go to DisneyWorld. We didn't have any kids because of my body impediment, but we could have fun there as a couple.

I did give him an out and told him we could run away from mob life and hide in a little town in Spain, but he wouldn't hear it. He was an honorable man and if he gave someone his word, then it would be done. Plus, neither of us spoke Spanish. He told Aro he would work for him for life, which left me with a bad taste in my mouth. Aro was strange, eccentric, even, but not as creepy as CC. That guy gave me the chills.

The irony was not lost on me. Edward "worked" for Aro but essentially did nothing except learn what Aro does, in case Aro is unable to. Like, if he's behind bars. The men who worked under Aro and did his dirty work all respected Edward, due to family relation. I could be wrong.

We went to all the theme parks and watched the fireworks all 4 nights. Edward bought me a book and we got signatures from all the characters walking around. He bought us special meals with Cinderella and Snow White, because I couldn't find their signatures while walking around. It was so sweet!

We even went to seaworld but that turned out to be lame and the cab ride made me so nauseous. I didn't even want to talk about it. It was just that bad. The only memorable thing was the giant buffet that had almost nothing I liked besides the hot dog. So, Edward paid $35 for a single hot dog. We'll probably laugh about it in a few years.

Edward was so relaxed by the end of the trip. I was sad it came to an end, but happy that we were progressing and strengthening our marital bond.

* * *

As we collected our luggage from the baggage claim, I noticed there was no car to pick us up, which was very strange. Edward was confused, as well.

We hailed a taxi to bring us all the way home. Again, I was so nauseous from the ride. I hated to be in the back. I loved driving and the sense of freedom it provided me.

When we arrived, the house was silent and wrecked. Our hellos were met with silence. This was even more troubling. As creepy as CC was, he was always there to greet everyone in front. Where was everyone?

We walked throughout the entire main house and couldn't find anyone, anywhere. We went into the elevator after walking in Aro's closet, which turned out to be a panic room! Edward punched a few buttons on a keypad I had missed seeing and the door flew open. Hiding in there was our dear old friend, CC. Why the hell was he here and everyone else gone?

Edward grabbed him by his shirt collar and pulled him closer. "What happened? Where is Aro? Where is everyone?" CC just started laughing with this cackling sound.

"They took him away! They'll take you, too!" He went on, making no sense at all.

Edward and I looked at each other, agreeing he had gone mad. It was good to know we were on the same page. He dropped CC back to the floor, disgusted with his bad breath, I was sure.

We held hands, to comfort each other and kept walking from room to room. It was terrible. Desks were loitered, the couches overturned, and I even saw scratches on the wall. Who did that?

I didn't want to stay there, in case CC was right, so I pulled Edward toward our house to start packing.

Crazy as it sounded, the flowers in the garden had been trampled on and it looked crushed. Devastating. Edward looked at me and knew how much I loved to garden. He shook his head, as if to acknowledge my insanity.

I went inside and nervously threw as much as I would need. It was so difficult to think straight when all I wanted to do was leave right away.

He pulled out his suitcase and did the same. I noticed he grabbed a box of money from the top shelf of our closet that I had no idea was there. So much for secrets. I was going to give him a piece of my mind when we got far away from here!

It didn't take very long to gather what we wanted to take. We loaded up the car and backed out of the driveway. I was sure we had everything we needed.

"Wait!" I screamed. "I left my blue backpack! I need to go get it!" I was hyperventilating at the thought I may have left it behind.

"Bella, we don't have time. Forget it! It's just a freaking backpack. I'll buy you a new one." Edward looked annoyed and didn't see the importance. I crossed my arms against my chest and gave him the stink eye with a raised brow. "Seriously, you want the backpack? Fine." He pulled back up the driveway, furious I was delaying our departure.

I shrugged. It was important to me. I quickly ran out of the car, flying into the house and grabbing it from my well-kept hiding place, under the mattress. Edward never slept on my lumpy side, so no one knew it was there.

Aro let me keep the pictures in my wallet and I printed the ones from my cell phone before he destroyed it. It was all I had of my old life. My writing was in there, too. I was determined that all the stories I wrote would not be lost. The only thing that may it lumpy was the stuffed batman I bought online. It was awesome and cute.

I ran back to the car and, once again, he backed up toward the street. Only, there was an agent there. She was holding up her badge.

Fudge. It was Alice. I knew I didn't trust her. I was close to telling him to just run her over, but figured we shouldn't add murder to the whole mob illegality charges they were probably going to throw at us.

She held up a megaphone and yelled into it. "Get out of the car! Put your hands where I can see you and lean against the car." After we did as she demanded, she continued talking. "You leaving so soon? I don't think so. It was a good idea I stuck around. I will take you into questioning. Based on your answers, we'll see if you can take a nice, extended vacation into witness protection. Let's go." She put handcuffs on us and led us toward an unmarked car. There was a grill between the front and back seats. Why did she handcuff us? She didn't say we were under arrest.

She drove to the police station, where a hunk of muscle greeted us. "No surprises," he said, in a deep, commanding voice.

Luckily, Edward and I had a silent agreement to not talk at all, as we made eye contact and nodded at each other. He probably had a lawyer. Didn't all mobsters have crooked lawyers?

They took us into holding rooms. I waited for some time, probably around 20 minutes before they asked me if I wanted a beverage. I knew better than to take one, though. They were using psychology on me for the long waiting and to take a DNA sample with a beverage cup. Not gonna fool me! I watched way too many crime shows.

* * *

Two FBI agents eventually came in. They introduced themselves as Jacob and Sam, but I wasn't interested. Both were average height and Sam had a really bad combover. We all knew his hair was gone. He was in serious denial. They had deep, dark tan lines, too.

I bet they went to the $5 tanning salon. Who knew the salary of an FBI agent? Apparently, it was not enough to go to a quality tanning salon.

They began questioning every facet of my living there. After answering none of their questions and looking down at a crack in the floor the whole time, a man with very slick black hair in a suit came walking in, a brown briefcase at his side. I wondered what caused that crack in the floor. Was it something exciting, like a criminal defying arrest? Or, what is it-

"Is my client done or do you have anything to arrest her with?" He was met with silence, so I stood up and smiled at the agents, annoyed I was even brought in. I knew this had to do with putting the mobsters in jail, but I wanted to stay married and this would surely cause a fight between us. Married people had more important things to fight about, like chores and hidden musicals.

Jacob the big, important FBI agent just had to get the last word in. "Stay in the country. You are now mandated not to leave, pending the investigation." Yeah, right. If we wanted to go the moon, Edward would make it happen. The only reason I'd want to go was to see if it was made of swiss cheese. It could happen.

Edward and he nodded at each other, careful not to say anything incriminating 1) in front of the police station and 2) in front of me. Edward did his best to shield me.

When we walked out, Edward grabbed me and checked me over, as if I had gotten into a fight. Why would I have picked a fight? After he found nothing out of the usual, we walked to our slimy lawyer's car. He drove us back to our house, where we unpacked. Edward found out my hiding place. He laughed at me and said he knew it was there the whole time.

Really? The only link to my past, a few pictures, and he knew. It was sweet how he didn't push for me to talk about my divorced parents or isolated upbringing in suburbia.

* * *

Aro was indicted for multiple counts of selling of illegal arms and extortion. Luckily, Edward was not a part of that mess, since Aro tried to keep his real name out of any dealings. His face was never shown and it was a relief to us.

No one knew what happened to CC. I doubted Alice would bother with a deal and witness protection. The guy's mind was gone and certainly not credible enough for a testimony. Not like I would know that from watching crime shows or anything.

Edward and I moved to Hawaii under fake names for the flight. I refused to keep a fake name, though. Bella and Edward Cullen were hidden from the world, anyways. I was sad I wouldn't ever be able to contact my parents again, but staying in this marriage was a life choice I had to make and keep.

We bought a existing farm on one of the surrounding islands and lived off the land. No one was going to find us there. Thank goodness for YouTube! It taught us everything from milking a cow to making our own soap. I got really good at sewing together clothes for us, too. My designs needed improvement, but we were good otherwise.

**Edward's PoV**

Bella was the perfect alibi and she didn't even know it. I was tired of Aro and his games. I knew Bella didn't want the mob life and I was wrapped around her little finger. The way she wanted to leave wasn't conducive, so I had to plan it just right.

I knew about Alice being an agent, but I wanted to have everything ready to go instead of relying on our government to help us. After Aro was arrested, I made a deal with the prosecutor to be completely off the record and I gave a full testimony of his dealing anonymously. Their end of the bargain was to never look for us or arrest us for anything. CC was to disappear in whatever way they wanted. He was an illegal alien from Italy, so he was totally undocumented. As far as the US government was concerned, he could lose his memory and be deported to an uninhabited island by the Philippines. That was my guess, anyways.

If Bella ever found out, she would remove my genitals, of that I was sure. But, the less she knew about my illegal and criminal dealings, the better. What she didn't know, couldn't hurt her.

I should probably tell her that her design skills should be put to rest. They had proven clothing designs online! My clothing sizes were mismatched and the pockets never held anything. They must've been stitched extremely loosely. She needed to start writing again. Perhaps I could take up the clothing chore. She kept throwing out my "old life" clothes and there was only so much a man could handle.

**Bella's PoV**

After we got settled in, a miracle happened. We were pregnant! Maybe Aro was right and it was the stress. Whatever. I was betting it was the flu shot. I always ended up getting sick, anyways, so no point in taking medicine that didn't help.

I spent the whole pregnancy sewing blankets and clothes, since I knew I wouldn't have much time later on. Edward smiled and told me I did a great job. He was such a sweet husband. An absolute liar, since his smile was strained when he said that, but it was still sweet of him to say. He had plenty to do on the farm and he cooked and cleaned, too. The least I could do was sew for him! I knew he felt guilty for all the sewing projects I was doing. He kept telling me I needed to rest more.

Edward was great with all my cravings. We couldn't really leave the island, so we had things delivered to our boat when Edward ordered supplies that we couldn't make ourselves. He would meet them on the water, away from the island, and wait until they were completely out of sight through his binoculars before heading back to us. We didn't take any chances at all.

That was how he fed my tiramisu addiction.

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**Add note: I made a mistake and said that this was the last chapter. Sorry, it's not...!**


	8. Chapter 8

**I hope you like it! ****All characters belong to Stephanie Meyers.**

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**Bella's PoV**

We did subscribe to satellite TV and internet. We decided it was important to stay current on the news. We learned everything from other languages to computer programming to fighting methods. It was fascinating how much YouTube helped.

Since we lived off the grid and bought the farm in private, cash only, there was no paying taxes. As far as the government was concerned, this was unused and abandoned property. Since Edward was so good at technology, he made sure that any electronic communication we had went through so many servers and bounce whatevers, that no one would be able to trace our location. I hoped so. The last thing I needed to do was pay taxes.

Being well off was so helpful when rebuilding a farm. Edward and I brought home a box full of cash for all the supply runs. We wouldn't run out for many, many years, if not for the rest of our lives. I believed the box had about $250,000, which was plenty. It was a very good thing that our boat was big. It was no yacht, but it could hold plenty when only 1-2 people were on it.

Edward made many changes to our new place while I was pregnant. The farm had a bunch of old and unused materials, like wood and metal, in the barn. There was other stuff in there, too, like a wheelbarrow, mower, and a dolly. Edward told me this was ok and we should keep it. He had a plan. We didn't have much use for the barn, though, so we decided it could be storage for later, once the materials were used. Luckily, the previous farmer left a whole bunch of furniture, too. We had a bed, although it really needed a new mattress, and a set of drawers.

In fact, Edward spent a lot of time either taking care of me or building who knew what over there. He liked using the barn, since it gave him cover from the blaring sun and it protected whatever he built. He came into the house with a few wooden hangers he made. I was so proud of him. That was his first project. He better make more, given how much he'd already spent buying tools that the previous farmer didn't leave behind.

We wanted to live off the grid, so he put up solar panels for electricity. It didn't get cold here, but we had a real fireplace, just in case. I loved roasting marshmallows with him. We'd tell each other stories of growing up. It was nice sharing my past and hearing about his. I tried to gloss over my parents' divorce, but he got it out of me. It was good to finally be fully honest with me and I was sure he felt the same way.

We didn't have any animals, so that made eating more difficult. I planted vegetables, potatoes, and corn in a large existing garden. We were able to find fresh fruit everywhere, even though I'd heard Hawaii didn't have any way to get fruit besides flying it in, and I canned it. We had a fridge but no freezer, since there wasn't much we could freeze, anyway, and then thaw. Luckily, the weather was pretty great year round.

The only meat we ever ate was when he brought back deliveries. After a while, we just got used to not eating it and enjoyed a healthier lifestyle. I was glad to be done with all the toxicity of modern food, found in grocery stores on the mainland.

We had a grill, of course, and there was an electric stove that ran on what the solar panels provided. I would fry up some veggies. I made crepes, too, with some strawberries we found and the flour he brought in the supply run.

The water was filtered and pumped in somehow. Edward tried to explain it, but I had the pregnancy stupids by my final month. I couldn't concentrate on anything. I knew he said something about how our water came in from a hot spring and the cold water came from a spring at the edge of our property. It was far, since I never saw anyone on the island besides us. We had a well, but it was more like a decoration, since we had no use for it.

The farm didn't look like much when we arrived, but it definitely was so wonderful by the end of my pregnancy.

* * *

I got a lot better at sewing clothes together. Edward brought home a sewing machine, thread, and some yards of cloth in different colors or designs with each supply run. It was fun to make things and even Edward was surprised at how good I was at it. A little practice and YouTube could work miracles. Ok, maybe a lot of practice. I even sewed sheets when he came home with a mattress! I didn't even bother asking where it came from.

Edward surprised me, in my 4th month of pregnancy, with some children's furniture, like a rocking chair, crib, changing table, and toy chest. I couldn't have bought better quality and prettier things. He also made some block toys and painted them different colors. He was really taking to being a dad well. I was so proud of him and it brought happy tears constantly. It worried him, but he finally understood to leave me alone unless I was crying and yelling at him.

Edward found a lot of medical information online and we were confident we could have the baby here, instead of going to a hospital. I was scared, but I trusted Edward to do the right thing.

We chose to have the baby in a water birth. It was comfortable for me and I didn't have to take any pain meds. I was concerned about them affecting the baby. It was still so painful. If anyone said labor was easy, shoot them. They're too crazy.

"Breathe, Bella! You can do it. You're such a great wife and you'll make the best mother. Do those exercises we learned about from the online Lamaze class. You can do it!" I wanted to rip his head off. The words were nice but all I wanted to do was scream, hit, and get this baby out of me.

"Ok, so when I see the baby crowning, push really hard. And then, when you feel you can't push anymore, push harder!" Yep, he was going to be in serious pain when I got done with him.

After 6 hours of labor, we had a little girl and named her Winnie Marie. Edward's grandmothers' name was Winifred, so Winnie was the compromise. I didn't want to name the baby from anyone on my side. There was too much animosity for me to even think about.

I passed out after Winnie was born and fed, so Edward put me in bed and put Winnie in a bassinet he made after cleaning her up. The previous farmer left an animal scale, so we used that and Edward's measuring tape to record her size. I was making a baby book, so I had to have those details.

* * *

She was a darling little thing with green eyes and little red curls. It was his hair color, but his hair just kind of did its own thing. She cooed, burped, and did her business whenever. She was a really good baby and I was so happy at how healthy she was.

After the first two weeks, Edward surprised me by bringing home a baby girl goat. She looked like a Sally, so that was her new name. We used the previous farmer's fenced pasture area. Luckily, it had plenty of fresh grass. We now had a way to get milk, butter, and cheese. Our menu just got better and wider. Plus, Winnie could learn so much about animals. The goat was surprisingly easy to take care of. She was able to run around, eat, and crap wherever she wanted. Seemed like an easy life to me.

She never gave us any problems, like colic or ear infections. She learned to sleep through the night by herself at 2 months old. I breastfed, which was handy, instead of buying formula. Even though we could afford it, I wanted to have plenty in the bank, just in case. The more we could save, the better.

Although, it wasn't any fun to boil and wash the cloth diapers. That was Edward's job. I wretched every time I tried to do it. At least, he had the stomach for it. Poor guy.

She was such a daddy's girl. He and I switched off telling her bedtime stories and we sang a lot. Granted, I sang off key but they didn't say anything about it.

Edward and I decided, even though Winnie was still a baby at 8 months old, that we would built a jungle gym for her. I knew we would add swings and other stuff later. We worked really well together until he blew up one day.

"Damnit!" I looked at him and tried to figure out his irritation. He was looking at some logs I stapled together. Did he not like that way I did them? Maybe I was supposed to nail them instead. I was trying to be creative. I arched my left brow and waited for him to expand.

"Honey, you know how we agreed to do this together?" I nodded. "Well, I think it might be better if I did it myself. I know you want to help, but I have a vision of how this is going to be great and I'd like to surprise you. Is that ok?" He looked hopeful and how could I say no? I didn't like surprises but this was a sweet gesture on his part. Still, I should say no and help him out.

"Of course. I'm sure it'll be great." It'd also get me out of doing so much manual labor. My back was constantly hurting from carrying Winnie around everywhere.

He finished pretty quickly. Maybe I had slowed him down a lot because he had to explain things to me a few times? I didn't speak home and garden, so it was difficult for me. In any case, it only took him a few weeks to get it done and I could tell he was so proud!

It was a decently sized play area. He made toddler sized wooden horses that she could rock back and forth on. There were adjustable monkey bars and a canopy for a reading area. I saw a beautiful doll house and I knew he would try to teach her how to paint, and then build, the furniture. He was in his element and I was so proud of him!

* * *

When Winnie turned one, Edward brought home another goat. This time, it was a young boy goat and we named him Harry. He figured it would be good if they made little baby goats and we could have a real farm. Or, as close as we could get.

When she turned two, we gave her an Edward special-edition princess toddler captain bed. It had curves on the headboard and pretty designs with roll-out drawers at the bottom. Her name was engraved on each side. I could tell just how much work he put into it. It's a wonder my husband's back was still functioning.

We home-schooled her and she was such a great student! By the time she was three, she was reading and writing. We decided against teaching her cursive, it was just unnecessary. Nobody wrote checks anymore except to the US government for all of their taxes.

Winnie did pick up a terrible trait of mine. She fell down everywhere, even when trying to walk straight. We tried to overcome it with gymnastics and dance videos. She was pretty much cured but there was still no hope for me.

He did a part of her schooling. I took over most of the education, though. It felt wrong to have Edward do all the work.

He taught her so much about sports and she loved being active. The play area had expanded a lot. Edward loved doing that for her and I never had to help, because he liked surprising me with the new and improved parts.

I did girly things with her. Sparkly nail polish, lip gloss, and blush made her happy. She didn't need the color on her cheek, since she blushed so often. She took to being able to have bothof us in her personality. By the time she was five, she could handle fishing by herself, yet her dress collection rivaled a department stores'. The girl loved to sew clothing. She took after me.

Against my initial plea, he taught her how to defend herself and how to shoot a gun, just in case. I conceded after realizing just how dangerous it could be with his "previous life." Edward still had plenty of enemies and, while we agreed to get out of that life, we had to prepare for it in case we were found. No one was in charge anymore, so I could imagine the chaos we left behind. She was really good at it, too, like everything else. By the time she was seven, she was an expert shot but still couldn't walk without tripping over a flat surface.

Edward didn't know, but I was quite aware of the "extra" things he taught her. I knew he had her develop a tolerance to alcohol and he had her try smoking. She even tried pot! I knew he wanted her to have this so that she didn't feel sheltered. I agreed, though. I didn't want her to act out and try these things without a safe circumstance.

I could tell she missed out on having friends her own age. She told us that it was okay, but parents can tell when their kids were lying. She never lied, so we knew it was serious and she wouldn't be on the island. How could we expect her to? After Edward and I passed on, she'd be alone and that wasn't a way to live.

She was the light in our lives and we were so sad when she left the island at sixteen, but we understood.

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	9. Chapter 9

**I hope you like it! ****All characters belong to Stephanie Meyers.**

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**Bella's PoV**

No one knew she existed, besides us. Edward and I had fake papers drawn up, just in case, so everyone on the outside thought she was 21, since she handled herself so maturely. We set her up with a monthly allowance of $2,000 per month. College was paid for directly, so she didn't have to worry about it and a house was purchased in her name, so she wouldn't have to pay rent. All utilities were paid from a house fund. The only thing she had to worry about was keeping her grades up, groceries, and spending money. We didn't want her to get a job. She could do that after college.

A few days after she left, Edward and I were sitting on our porch, with me curled up in his right side. It was so nice and peaceful. It was easy to just be at peace, like this, with him. The slight wind felt great and smelled fresh. I loved how there was no car exhaust or any man-made fumes here. The air was so pure.

"It's so quiet," I whispered. There was no giggling girl, no noise from the multitude of things Edward would build for us. It was like time had expired and yet, we enjoyed sitting in silence. He and I found times like this, where we could just sit and relax, without needing chatter.

I looked at my husband and took in how handsome he was and how time had changed him. He had scattered gray hairs on his messy top and crows feet easily distinguishable when he smiles or laughs. His belly has grown a bit, though not much, since he does so much work outside. The best part was when he looked at me. I could see his love pouring out of him and into me. It was magical.

It made me wonder how I seem to him.

"Yeah." Pause. "I miss her so much. I wonder what she's doing." I'd been wondering the same thing. She was going to communicate with us. Edward's alias was Rusty Shackleford and mine was ILoveBananas. What? I did.

We decided once a week was enough (it really wasn't) to check in with us. We didn't want to keep her on a steel chain. We wanted her to be free and experience the world. Travel and see the sights. Meet people her age. We wanted her to live and love. If we were lucky, she'd bring that special someone to the island. We missed her so much, though.

* * *

Granted, it wasn't all happy and roses here. Edward and I still had plenty of disagreements. Our marriage began quite rocky, but Aro was an excellent matchmaker. I wanted to visit him in prison and when I asked Edward if he wanted to come with, he looked at me like I asked him how dirt tasted. It just didn't compute.

After a moment, he came to his senses and shook me (gently) until I promised not to do it. I didn't see the big deal, besides getting found out, dragged back, and tortured. It probably wasn't worth seeing him, Edward's right.

This was what happened at boredom. I thought of all kinds of crazy things. If we couldn't visit Aro...what could we do?

Edward went back to building. Our house was a one and a half story, plenty for a family of three. However, Edward was sure Winnie would bring someone home, maybe even start a family here. We weren't sure if she'd come back or if she'd stay over there. Regardless, he wanted it to be done by the time she came back. I felt bad that he was doing all the work, but he wanted to surprise me. He said it was wonderful that I helped by making his meals and took care of him when his muscles hurt.

Our one and a half story turned into three bedrooms and a full bathroom on top. We didn't have a basement, unfortunately, so he built up and to the back. The entire back of the house was glass. It overlooked the most amazing landscape of grass, flowers, and trees.

We had a nice sized kitchen, full bathroom, living room, dining room, and two bedrooms on the main floor. It seemed to be too much, but it kept him busy. He needed it.

Meanwhile, I kept busy with planning the decor. I was able to make very nice curtains and got busy with crocheting and cross stitching. I made very nice pieces to hang and I was positive Winnie would love the changes.

Edward and I always snuggled up together at the end of the day. We would watch TV, play cards or board games, or just stare at the sunset for 5 minutes before falling into bed, totally exhausted.

It was about 7 months after Winnie left that Edward returned from getting supplies off the boat. He was jittering in excitement and ready to burst.

"What's up, husband?" I winked at him.

"We got a package from Winnie!" Something from Winnie? We hadn't heard from her for over a month now and I was ready to go find her.

"Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!" I sounded like a two year old but I didn't care. A mother would battle dragons for their kid's pie request.

He handed me the letter first. I rushed to open it and got a paper cut in return. He put my finger in his mouth to stop the bleeding and read the letter behind me.

Hey Mom &amp; Dad,

I hope all is well and you're not bored. It probably seems lonely on the island without me. I miss you both a lot, it's weird not doing family movie night or beating dad at checkers. Oh, I found out the real rules for checkers! Dad cheats, big time.

I looked up at him, completely agreeing with her.

I enrolled in the community college to start with. The classes are not difficult, but the egos of the professors are huge. I upset one of them, especially, my first day, when I proved her wrong. That was a big mistake, since I have to work extra hard for a good grade.

One thing we always taught Winnie was honor, honesty, and pride. I could see how that may have not worked out well for her right away. Not everyone was like that.

I've met some nice people. Some others aren't so nice, so I stay away from them. I joined a basketball group and have found that I'm pretty good at it! The coach says she's never seen someone take to a sport like I have. She's one of the nice ones.

I was so glad she met nice people.

I don't want to worry you, but there are a couple people here that I don't trust at all.

I felt Edward stiffen.

James and Victoria are not students, yet they hang around all the time, claiming they graduated and still have friends here. I never see them hang out with anyone. There has been a rash of...incidents ever since I first saw them. Vandalism, cars stolen, and muggings. I conceal/carry like you taught me, but am hopeful I can keep peace and distance between us.

I grinned. She would seek them out and get them arrested. I looked at Edward and I knew he was thinking along the same lines.

"She's gonna go after them, isn't she?" There was a sparkle of pride in his eyes, mirroring my own, I was sure.

Anyways, I know I told you I'd communicate once per week, but the homework load is quite high. I was invited to a party this weekend. Don't worry, I'll be the designated driver for the group of girls and boys I've become a part of.

Yep, she was going to seek them out this weekend. I was so incredibly proud of her.

I'll write more soon. Enjoy the package, if Mom hasn't torn into it by now. I love you!

It's chocolate. I could feel it in my bones. I sniffed the box. Godiva.

* * *

After my face was pleasantly covered in chocolate, I washed up. Edward and I went hiking on a nature trail he built, since he was going to skip working on the house today. That was such a nice surprise!

We saw all kinds of new plants. It would be interesting to take pictures and I could create a memoir of our family with dried flowers. I'd give it a thought later.

"Did you ever think our lives would turn out like this? This amazing?" My husband had always been waiting for the other shoe to drop. He couldn't believe life was just this wonderful. This was due to growing up around Aro, paranoia was in the genes.

"I love our life and what we've done with it. Our daughter is grown, mature, and intelligent. She can take care of herself and anyone else that needs it. I wouldn't trade this life for any other."

I was recalling this conversation while we were on the boat for a trip I dreaded.

The mafia called and we had to answer.

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**I hope you liked it. Any ideas as so why they left their haven to go into the real world?**

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	10. Chapter 10

**All characters belong to Stephanie Meyers.**

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**Bella's PoV**

"So, what do you think they want?" I asked my husband, as he drove our boat to the mainland. We were both tense from the impending call we received. It came from an unknown number, but Winnie's voice came through loud and clear.

"Mom? Dad? There's been a slight problem and I need you to come get me. It's not, uh, super important but there's someone you need to come meet. Yeah, please come soon? I'm at 123 Main Street. It's a big, blue building. Can't miss it. Go to the 5th floor."

Ever since receiving that call, all thoughts of what it could be were rushing through my mind. It had to be the mafia. Who else would go to great lengths to find us?

"I'm not sure. I don't want to jump to conclusions for no reason. We'll tackle it when we find out, ok? You should stop shaking and picking at your fingers." He was trying to calm me. I had no idea I was even picking at myself from my nerves.

It took a few hours to get there, our anticipation grew higher and higher the closer we got. When he finally docked the boat, I bolted to get out and was anxious for him to tie the boat down securely.

Once we were safely off the dock, we raced to get a cab and gave him the address Winnie told us to go to. Were they waiting for us? How did they know when we'd arrive?

The cab driver was not a well-groomed man. His clothes were tattered and he stunk of smoke. I wasn't sure to trust him with our lives, but Edward didn't seem to have a problem with it. I could see Edward eyeing him a few times, though.

We finally arrived at the blue building. It was non-descript, something you would drive past without a second glance. I didn't see a sign and the entrance was a double door at the top of a few steps.

Edward and I held hands as I took a deep breath. We moved up the steps, slowing down to calm our fast-beating hearts. The closer we got, the surer I was to see Winnie. We'd escape and take her back to the island. Not the best solution, but it was all I had.

Edward opened the door for me and cool air burst at my skin, making the goosebumps rise. The inside was just as bland as the outside. There was no reception desk. There were people moving around, doing whatever job they were tasked. Everyone was dressed very nicely and professional.

We got to the elevator. When it opened, an older man was there as we stepped inside. There was nothing special about him, either. White hair, tanned skin, and him stance hunched.

"Where to?" He asked. He didn't make eye contact, just stared at the buttons while waiting for an answer. Strange.

"5th floor, please." I was confused as I thought about our surroundings. None of it made any sense. Was she kidnapped? Who was holding her here?

The elevator had a camera in a corner, hidden inside a dark dome. I couldn't hear the motors work, but I was sure it was taking a full inventory of us.

We finally stopped at the 5th floor and my heart stopped pounding. He held his hand to hold the door open and waited for us to step off. I wasn't sure if we should give a tip but, as soon as we turned to give one after stepping off, he quickly stepped back in and closed the doors.

Bizarre.

We turned around and took in our surroundings. There was a desk, but no one was seated in it. It was a small reception area. It had no couch or chairs to get comfortable in, so there was no welcome to stay put. I saw a phone with one button on it and went toward it.

I picked up the cradle, Edward following me. I pushed the button and it rang on the other end.

"Hello?" My voice was lost and I couldn't say anything, due to my nervousness. Where is my baby girl and why is it taking so long to see her?

The voice spoke again. "Hello? What do you want?"

Edward grabbed the phone receiver from me and I was so thankful for his strength. "Yes, we're here to see our daughter, Winnie. Is she here?"

"Oh." That's it? We turned to each in confusion. "Be right there." He hung up before we had a chance to say another word.

A sliding door seemed to appear out of nowhere, hidden in the wall. A man came out of there and there was nothing jovial about him. He face was stoic and starched. He had graying, blonde hair that was cut close to his scalp but not exactly a buzz cut. There were aged lines but he held himself straight. I pictured him going to charm school and walking with a book on his head.

Stop! Winnie is why we're here. I need to concentrate.

He looked at both of us, his eyes darting back and forth. Was he expecting us to attack him? Edward's jaw was clenched and I could see the last of his sanity was slipping.

I stepped forward, holding out my hand. "Hello. I'm Bella and this is my husband, Edward. We're here for our daughter, Winnie." He nodded and turned around, eyeing Edward's mental stability. I had to admit, I wasn't sure how much longer Edward would hold out and stay calm.

He led us down an average hallway and we came to a lone door at the end. Maybe there were other doors hidden in the walls, but the only door we were going to use was the wooden one at the end.

"Please, follow me." He opened the door and held out his hand, silently telling us to go ahead first.

As soon as Edward stepped inside, the guy shut the door and locked it. My heart was pounding and all this nonsense was taking a toll on us. I began searching the walls, looking for a door that would lead us the hell out of this insanity. What was with these people?

Find Winnie, and escape. That was my new motto.

A panel slid down from the ceiling and attached itself to the wall. It turned on by itself, since I couldn't see any buttons. I saw Edward pacing back and forth, like a caged animal. This was claustrophobia at its finest.

Static snow came on before the image changed to a woman with flaming red hair and pale white skin. Her blue eyes were like ice. We couldn't see any part of her body.

She began with no pleasantries. "I'm sure you're confused about all of this, but we do it for security purposes. Your bodies are currently being scanned for any tracking or recording devices. This is standard procedure. Once complete and cleared, the door will open and you will see different surroundings. This room moves to another side, which is where I will be. Don't worry, you will see your daughter soon."

The display turned off and went back into the ceiling. I didn't know what to make of any of this. Security? Did they think we were spies or something?

Sure enough, the door finally opened and we walked into a warmly decorated room. It screamed comfort, having a plush couch, a rug, and painted red and cream hues. It made me feel as though we shouldn't be scared anymore.

Edward and I held hands, while we sat on the couch. It was very comfortable, much better than any bed I'd slept on, but I would never tell Edward that, since he worked so hard on making our home wonderful.

Another door opened, once I hadn't noticed, on the other side of the room. We turned to look at who was going to come through it by craning our necks back. I braced myself for more crazy.

"Mom! Dad!" We turned our bodies to her voice. Winnie ran in and hugged us both. It felt good to hold her again and I decided to attack anyone if they hurt her. We held each other tightly, knowing we came so close to losing her.

"What happened? What is this place? Are you ok? Did they hurt you?" I couldn't stop my questions fast enough, needing as much information as possible.

I relaxed when I saw her lopsided grin. "Mom, really? Do I look hurt? No, they've been very nice but this place is a secret. No one can enter unless they're brought here." She rolled her eyes and I was ready to discipline her for it, but there were more important things at hand.

Edward's PoV

Thank goodness our baby was ok! These freaks better have good answers. My wife has been holding my hand in a death grip and, truthfully, I needed her strength, as well. She was my rock.

This whole place reeked of secrecy. It reminded me of Uncle Aro's study. I wasn't sure what to make of it.

"Mom, Dad. I need you to meet a couple and please keep an open mind about them, ok?" We nodded, even though we were frightened of whoever was behind this. Why would anyone go to such great lengths?

She went back to the door she came from and she brought a couple people that I didn't recognize, although they looked like they were familiar to me. She held hands with both of them, and it seemed that they weren't going to harm us, for now.

"Mom, Dad. These are my grandparents. Dad, meet your parents."

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**I hope you liked it. Cool twist, eh?**

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	11. Chapter 11

**Sorry for the delay! All characters belong to Stephanie Meyers.**

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**Edward's PoV**

She said what? My parents aren't alive. These must be imposters. Uncle Aro cried with me and told me they died in a tragic car accident when I was 3. Would he have really lied about something as huge as that? Would he have kept me away from the very people that brought me into this world and loved me unconditionally?

Yes. As I thought about it, Uncle Aro was capable of anything. He controlled me, controlled my marriage and, if Bella hadn't been such a pain in the butt, he would've controlled her, too. As it was, no one could control her, and I certainly didn't want to.

That bastard!

"Uh, dad? Say something. Your face looks green. Do you need to lay down?" Winnie, bless her, saw my shock and the clearly poor way I was handling it. I nodded and Bella helped me to the couch.

My "parents" sat on the loveseat with her, opposite of me. Bella had my head in her lap and she was calmly threading her fingers through my hair and massaging my scalp. If I wasn't so shocked, I would've enjoyed it far more than I was.

"Mom, it doesn't look like he's getting any better. Should we call a doctor?" Bella shook her head and knew I just needed to process this.

The man, who was supposedly my father, came over. "I'm a psychiatrist, but I went through medical school before choosing my specialty. May I have a look?" I couldn't answer him, nor did I want to. Why was he offering?

"Please help him. I've never seen him act this way," she pleaded. I felt bad to scaring her, but, in all honesty, I wasn't completely in control mentally or physically.

My parents are alive. Could this be too good to be true?

My father stood over me and opened my eyes to a bright flashlight. It stung and I tried to close my eye, but he was prepared for it and held tighter but not painful.

"His eyes aren't dilated, so he should be fine. We just need to wait and let him come out of it when he's ready." I could see his eyes tearing up and he held back as much as was possible. How would I have reacted upon knowing my son thought I was dead?

I'm going to kill Aro.

Luckily, Bella knew what I wanted to find out. She's absolutely priceless, thank goodness I found her, in all our insanity. She and I acted out scenes to amuse me when we were alone, just to feed my favorite hobby.

"So, you're Edward's parents, huh? Not to be rude, but where have you been this whole time?" She's so tactful...not.

Bella's PoV

Either they were shitting us and acted really well or were parents that had no idea their son was alive. I couldn't imagine. My daughter sat with them and held both their hands.

The redhead quietly spoke."We were all in a car accident and Aro, my brother-in-law, told us our son didn't survive. We believed him, since little Edward wasn't wearing a seatbelt in the back. So, we recuperated and moved overseas to heal our broken hearts.

Ed and I were absolutely devastated. Every time we saw a child, I would break out in tears and Ed couldn't console me. In the year Edward would've turned 8, I got uterine cancer and had to have my uterus removed. So, we couldn't have any more children, even if we wanted them.

We lived in a condo and there was a park across the street. I went there to get over my grief and face my fears. I watched the children play and envied their parents, who probably took their fertility for granted. I certainly did when I had Edward.

Ed never came with me, he kept his pain inside and wouldn't talk to me about it. One day, I saw our neighbors bring their two kids there. Each mother stuck out like a sore thumb. They had ripped clothes and winced when they sat down. They seemed like they knew each other, so I let them be. I didn't want to make them uncomfortable by asking questions that were not my business. I made sure I smiled at them, welcoming them into my world if they wanted to come and say hello.

They never did.

The walls in our condo were not thick and, one day, I heard screaming. I ran out of our condo and followed the shrill sound. One of the mothers' husbands was beating her with a baseball bat! She was trying to protect the children. I didn't know where the other mother was. He killed her and made a move toward the kids. They were screaming in terror, so I jumped on him without even thinking twice. He dropped the bat and brought his hands up to his hair, where I held on.

I began screaming, as well, and Ed heard it. He followed me there and saw what was happening. The neighbor almost had me off of him and I had no doubt that my end would be close if that happened. Ed picked up the bat and hit the back of his knees. While the neighbor fell to the ground in pain, Ed caught me and put me behind him.

When he saw I was ok but shaken, he turned back to the neighbor and began beating him with the same bat. I was worried about his mental state, so I called the police and they rushed over.

Ed wasn't charged, since the DNA and the children, who witnessed the whole thing, told the same story. We claimed self defense and police even told us it was a good thing we arrived when we did, since the kids would be dead otherwise.

It turned out that he killed the other man and his wife in a fit of rage while he was high on drugs. Hallucinogens, I think. He kept yelling that we were evil and he had to kill them all to stay out of hell. It was very strange.

We couldn't allow the kids to go who-knew-where, so we became foster parents and then, later, adopted them. No one came to claim them and, if I'm being honest, I was thrilled. They have brought such happiness to our lives. We could never replace our first son, but we could try and help them."

Once she stopped speaking, a young couple came in. These must have been the kids.

"Edward, meet your brother and sister. This is Jamie and Victoria Masen."

Edward, waking from his comatose state, and I, both looked at them. The man who originally led us to the first room and the woman from the TV screen. They were family and we were rooted to our seats. How can you react to something like this?

"Uh...uh..." Apparently, Edward has lost his ability to articulate a greeting. I took his hand and led him over. Letting go, I put my right hand forward to greet them.

"Hi, I'm Bella. This mute over here is my husband, Edward." They chuckled but looked very wary of him, as if waiting for him to erupt. I had to admit, it was certainly a possibility.

Victoria stepped forward and shook my hand, while Jamie held back. I guessed he was too shy? "Hi Bella. It's nice to meet you. I know this is awkward, but we've been looking forward to meeting you for so long!"

This made me pause. How did they find us? Edward stood straight and mute. Seriously, this was a little far. I knew he was dramatic, but this was ridiculous.

I brought him back to the couch when I realized both men weren't going to make any introductions. I knew Edward wanted to know, so I asked it for the both of us.

"So, how did you find us?" I was on the edge of my seat, eager to find out more.

Ed decided to tell this part. "My brother, Aro, was a very selfish creature. I'd known this my entire life. However, I didn't know he'd go to such depths as to take away our son.

We didn't know about you until the police informed us. Aro, from his hopefully-uncomfortable jail cell, called me once the police tracked me down. He wanted me to see him. I didn't want to have anything to do with his "business," but he is still my brother. I had to find out what the hell he'd done, at the very least. He had spent many years in jail by then, so I wanted to see him at least once before either of us passed away.

It was during our visit that he dropped the bomb on us. That our son is alive and well. I was shocked and then wanted to tear him into pieces and burn them. However, I needed to know where you are. He didn't know that and the guard came over. He saw how angry and distressed I was, so he hauled Aro out of the room immediately. My blood pressure skyrocketed and I was shaking. Elizabeth wasn't that much better, but she held herself as best she could.

We left the jail and went back to our hotel. We knew we had to find you. We had no idea where to start. Lizzy and I contacted the police, who put us in touch with the case against Aro. He knew where you guys were. Even though they promised not to contact you, they still kept track of your location."

Of course they did.

"So, he told us that you were somewhere in Hawaii but wouldn't tell us where. That was confidential. The only reason he told us the proximity was because he felt pity for us. You didn't have a phone, so he couldn't call you to find out your exact location, or so he said.

Lizzy and I stayed there, in case you came back. Tori and Jamie went to look. We had age progression pictures made and they looked for you everywhere. They'd been to gyms, sporting events, luaus, you name it. It was when they went to the college that they got a break. Winnie looked so different from everyone, that she stuck out like a sore thumb. That and there was such a strong resemblance to you, Edward. So, they knew to follow her and see if she could lead us to you."

Victoria continued, "There were some hoodlums making problems, so we also guarded her. She came close a couple times to being mugged, but Jamie helped the police catch them. I won't go into how.

We finally saw that she lived alone and we were so dejected. We had no idea if you died or what. The house was in her name, so what could we think?

Either way, we befriended her. She turned out to be such a great person. Imagine our surprise when we learned of her true age. We finally told her the truth of who we were. We were scared of how she would react, since we were, essentially, stalkers. She surprised us by hugging us tightly and welcoming us to the family!

That's when I was sure she was our cousin. Mom and Dad told us what a nice and thoughtful kid Edward was when he was young, so he had to have passed that down to his own child. I couldn't help but feel so much relief.

Mom and Dad flew down here when we told them about Winnie. They embraced her and we came together as a family easily. However, we still wanted to see you. Family is family.

Jamie and I are engineers in England. We work on special government projects. Technically, he's an architect and my passion is electronics. That's why we bought this building and turned it into what you see here. While we were looking for you, Edward, we invested time into putting this together for safety purposes. I know it seems extreme, but our jobs can be dangerous and safety comes first, especially with family."

I took out a deep breath. This was a lot of information to process.

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	12. Chapter 12

**Sorry for the delay! All characters belong to Stephanie Meyers.**

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Bella's PoV

Holy cow. Of all of the things that I imagined on the boat ride, none of this came even close. I couldn't imagine how Edward was taking it, considering he was frozen and his eyes were darting between all five people.

He turned to me and I knew he just needed a hug. He was about to break down, this was all too much for him. Poor baby.

"Ok, I think maybe it's time to take a break. I'd like Edward, Winnie, and I to have some lunch together. No offense." I didn't know these people and I didn't like how they sprang this news to us. Showing up on the island would've been a bad idea, but a little forewarning would've been nice.

By the look on Winnie's face, she knew exactly my thoughts. I was confused and upset. It turned into anger and we had to get some private family time to assess each others' emotions. Edwards' was easy enough. He was catatonic, for now. I had no idea how long that was going to last.

Elizabeth nodded and motioned for us to follow her. I grabbed both Edwards' and Winnies' hands, following her into a kitchen.

"Please, sit over there. After you're done with your talk, perhaps we can have lunch together?" She looked hopeful and I wasn't sure whether to placate her or rip her head off. My emotions were all over the place and I realized I had to get myself under control.

She left without any response. Winnie turned to me and had the audacity to look annoyed.

"Mom, you could've been nicer and agreed. They've been nothing but hospitable. Are you seriously upset?" I had to remember to stay calm, she was only a teenager.

Impossible.

"Nicer?Nicer? My daughter gets taken, we get a strange message that worries us to no limit, go through an insane amount of security measures, just to find out we have living relatives? Are you mad? Your father is mute and I'm on the verge of my head exploding! How's that for upset?"

I huffed and counted to 10, which, realistically, didn't help at all.

She had the decency to look contrite. "Look, I know it's crazy how they handle things. They may be weird, but they are family. I've been getting to know them and they're really nice. Very paranoid, but nice. If you take a step back and see how you're overreacting, you'd be able to get to know the real them."

I couldn't believe this was coming from her. Didn't we raise her to be smarter and more careful than this? Was she so desperate for extended family that she chose to believe anything they said? Even if they were who they said they were, that doesn't change the fact that they worried us for no good reason. I mean, who did that?

My musing were cut short when Edward decided to wake up from his...state. "Winnie, you are in so much trouble. That's great that my family is alive, and that I have even more. However, your mother and I are so incredibly angry and confused. They're not your cousins! They're your grandparents, aunt, and uncle. Do you seriously believe everything they tell you? They can't even figure out the correct wording!"

"Yeah, aunt and uncle..." I parroted.

Winnie rolled her eyes. "Dad, they say cousin because they're not sure if we will see them as family, since they're not blood related. They're weird, remember? Regardless, can't we all be nice?"

"Nice?" Edward screamed. The vein on his temple was ready to pop out. "We're going home. I need time to...process this...and...yeah." He grabbed the both of us and made his way toward the door to get out of this place.

Ed came from the quasi-living room and held up his hands, clearly he was listening in. "Now, if you want to leave, there's an easier way. I was hoping for a better reunion, but perhaps we did this all wrong. Can we start over, please? Edward, I don't want to lose you and your family, now that we've found you." He did look upset, so I didn't think he was faking this. That, or he was one hell of an actor.

I tugged on Edward's hand, making him turn to me. I nodded and he understood.

"Fine," he spit out. You obviously have all of our information now, so write down yours and show us the way out. We'll call you, don't call us." That was as good as they were going to get, for now.

* * *

Ed led us to an elevator, which went directly to street level. Why couldn't we have just taken this and avoided all the drama? Ridiculous.

Edward held on to our hands tightly, as if he was reassuring himself we were safe or grounding himself to us. He was breathing hard and I worried he was going to pass out.

We were passing a park after a couple of blocks, so I pulled him toward a bench. He let me guide us there and breathed a sigh of relief. He was on the verge of passing out from all the stress, so sitting here for a while was a good idea. I hoped they weren't following us, but I got the distinct impression that they weren't going to let us out of their sights.

Edward's PoV

We are safe. That's all that matters. I wanted to go back to the island and hole ourselves back there. Winnie would eventually forgive us.

"Dad, I'm not going to be on the island forever. I mean, I love you guys, don't get me wrong. But, I want to have more life experiences and I want to get to know them more. Please!" How did she know what I was thinking? Did they develop mind reading abilities?

"You're thinking aloud, my dear," my wife explained.

That makes sense. I better stop thinking, for now.

Winnie's PoV

I couldn't believe my parents! How could mom and dad not want to include nana and papa in our lives? Tori and Jamie are so cool, too. Why couldn't they just take the time to get to know them? Instead, we're sitting on this stupid bench, wasting time.

I knew I was having a temper tantrum, but this was insane!

"Winnie, please think about this from our point of view. How would you have felt if you were in our position?" Ok, mom had a point. Maybe I should've taken their reactions into account, but I was so excited to have more family! They didn't seem shady or fake. They really were my extended family.

I just wish mom and dad opened their eyes to what could be a great thing.

Dad lowered his head in his hands, elbows were on his knees. "We're going back to the island. Let's have some down time and we'll call them later with the bad news. We're not interested...yada yada."

Ok, this was going to be a lot harder than I thought.

"Mom, Tori told me dad's parents are sick. They just want to see their son and spend time with him and his family. Is that so wrong?"

Dad's head popped up and I got excited that maybe it would work and be the catalyst to get the family together.

"Is it contagious? Oh my lord, we need to get out of here, NOW!" Dad yelled. He pulled us toward the dock and I struggled to keep up.

Maybe telling little white lies was a bad idea. "No, I'm sorry. That wasn't true. I just want us to be a family." I couldn't stop the tears from falling. How could they not see that this was such a good thing?

Edward's PoV

Winnie's tears were never something I could handle well. Bella was not as affected by her guilt tears, but I would give her anything she wanted to get the tears to stop. Bella made her promise to never do that to me, but here she was, doing it.

Bella just shook her head and knew what she was up to. "Winnie, you stop that, this instant! If your father wants down time, then we should help him, not hinder him and force him to do what you want. Love and respect are earned, and I'm not sure what is going on with you. They need to prove they want to be with us, not make us go through hocus and pocus first. Get yourself together. Your father looks better and not as green, so let's head back and deal with this, one step at a time. I think we, at the very least, deserve that."

I was green?

We made our way to our boat, taking our time to get relaxed. The smell of restaurant food wafted through the air, but we had been eating such healthy foods for so long that I didn't have any yearning for a bite.

Ok, maybe a small bite.

Bella got behind the wheel after I removed the rope that held us to the dock. I quickly got in, making sure Winnie was safe inside. She had her arms crossed and was pouting like a three year old. I couldn't figure out what her problem was. She was taking this out of proportion. I had feelings, too.

We finally arrived at the island and I breathed in the air, enjoying the freshness of it. It wasn't overwhelmed with pollution, just crisp and clear to breathe. I loved it.

Bella was frozen and I followed her line of sight.

"Hello, folks."

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	13. Chapter 13

**Sorry for the delay! All characters belong to Stephanie Meyers.**

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**Edward's PoV**

How did they know how to find us? Did they know how to get to the island before they even met Winnie? Did anyone else know? My body shivered, hoping no one else knew where we were.

Bella had this sexy and angry look on her face, but I had to make sure to pay attention. I couldn't just go catatonic again.

"What the hell do you think you're doing here?" Bella questioned. We all cautiously got out of the boat, taking measured steps.

"We came to warn you. I know you never come to the mainland, so we came here. Although, I'm very surprised you went there. In any case, there are certain people looking for you." I rolled my eyes.

"Too late, they already found us. Thanks for the huge head's up. Your warning is a day and dollar late." I couldn't believe their stupidity. Seriously?

The detective looked stumped. "If they found you, why are you still alive?" He was making no sense.

"Probably because they're my family, I guess." I shrugged my shoulders. What else could I say?

"I don't understand. Felix and Demetri told you they are your family?" Wait, what?

"Who are they?" Bella asked before I could. I'd never heard of those names.

The detective smirked. "Surprised, are you? They're Aro's associates from overseas. Apparently, they've been keeping an eye on your extended family but lost them. Demetri hasn't been able to track them, so your family must be getting help from someone."

How did he know I had family?

"We've always known you had your family. I couldn't understand why you stayed away from one another, until I realized you didn't know the other was alive. Let's just say, I was the little birdie who helped bring you all together. I think I deserve at least a thanks?"

Before I realized what was happening, I blinked, only to see Bella tackling the detective. "You bastard! You couldn't have told us sooner about them?" She kept kicking him and I was pretty sure he was going to arrest her for attacking a police officer. My body was frozen as I watched her scratch and kick him. His blood, I assumed, was running down his cheeks and his clothes were torn. Where did she learn how to defend herself so well?

I finally woke up from my stupor and couldn't watch any more of this train wreck. I grabbed Bella and held her tightly in my arms. She struggled to get out, but then relaxed. I know what she was up to, though.

Bella's PoV

Why wasn't he relaxing his hold on me? I needed to get back to beating the guy!

"Bella, this isn't good for you. Please, calm down," he whispered. Being held in his arms was calming me down, so I took some deep breaths and decided to just give the guy angry looks. What I really wanted to do was spit in his face and figure out how to get some retribution.

Why wasn't Edward mad? He could've had so many years with them! I didn't get along with my parents and they certainly didn't get along with each other, so why take a family away from a child, when it could've been prevented?

"Wow, Bella. I had no idea you were so passionate," the detective said. "It was probably a bad idea to not tell you, but that wasn't my decision. The chief said to leave well enough alone, since it had been so long. I couldn't take it anymore, though. That's why I cracked and told them. A little thanks would be appreciated. I didn't have to do anything!"

This time, Edward's face got red and I could see the anger about to explode. He let me out of his hold and I just knew it was my turn to calm him down. I didn't want him to be responsible for permanently disabling or harming a police officer, no matter how much we were hurt by it all. I grabbed his hand to keep him from attacking. I wasn't sure how successful I'd be at grounding him, but it was keeping my thoughts calm.

His nose flared and he tried to shake off my hand. Nuh-uh. No way, buddy. If he goes to jail, I just don't know-

"Are you kidding? You want to be thanked for sitting on your ass and keeping something so important to yourself? How would you feel if the same happened to you?" His other hand was clenched in a fist, ready to swing at the first opportunity.

I jumped in, before it could escalate any further. "Ok, let's just calm down and take a step back. We're not apologizing and I guess, neither are you. Perhaps we should, instead, try and figure out how we're going to deal with Felix and Demetri. What do they want? Why are they trying to find us?"

The detective looked around, clearly disguising his role in this. "What did you do?" I asked in a deadly and low voice. Did he out our location?

"Uh, well, you see," he pulled his collar away from his throat, "they tapped into the database and found out. Since we weren't 100% sure, I've been spending the past two days going to each island to find you. They will, too. They know the proximity and it will be a matter of time. You are not safe here. You need to go somewhere else to hide until we can figure out the next step."

"So," I began, "what you're saying is that we have to leave our home because you did exactly what we told you not to do and now we're in danger because of your stupidity? Did I get that right?" He nodded, his eyes cast down in embarrassment, I hope.

Edward gently grabbed my elbow and led me about fifty feet away, hopefully out of hearing range. "What should we do? We need to figure out what they want and how to get out of this situation. We've been here for so many years and I don't want to give this up. Tell me what to do," he begged. I'd never seen Edward so vulnerable, with the exception of his outing his acting.

I knew what we had to do and I didn't want to do it. Edward was going to flip out, but it was our only hope. "Edward," I began, "there's only one thing to do. We need help, and we can't depend on our police force to protect us, nor do we know how to keep running from these people. This Demetri guy will find us eventually. You know what we have to do."

His eyes, which were pleading with me for a good solution, hardened in disgust. "There's no other way?" he spat. I shook my head. "Fine. Let's go." We went back to the detective and Winnie. He was telling her something and I did and did not want to know what that was about. I wasn't sure.

I took Edward's hand in mine, resolved in our decision. "Detective, please get off our land immediately. Winnie, get back in the boat." Winnie boarded right away, while the detective held out his business card.

"If you need to reach me, my number is on this. I'll know it's you if you ask for Detective Liam Ire. Ok?" He smiled, as if we'd forgive him anytime soon, if ever.

I nodded curtly, Edward following my lead. We didn't shake hands, but I took the business card. We waited until we couldn't see his boat anymore and got on our own.

"Well, let's go hide and figure this out, shall we?"

* * *

We got to the mainland and took the taxi to the address we dreaded and, yet, needed to be at. We didn't want to need the help, but there was nowhere else to go. If anyone could help, it's here.

Once we arrived, we stood on the street and I dialed the number given to me previously.

"Hello?"

"Hi Victoria. We need your help. Can you please open the door?"

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	14. Chapter 14

**I have had a massive case of writer's block. Sorry for the delay! All characters belong to Stephanie Meyers.**

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**Edward's PoV**

The door opened on its own and we walked back into their strange building. Everyone but Jamie met us and guided us to the elevator, which stopped on a different floor than we had previously been to.

We stepped out and saw a series of bedroom suites. As we walked past some of the open doors, I got a glimpse and it was almost bigger than my entire house! We came to a stop at the end of the hallway and Tori gestured us inside.

I'd never seen more extravagance in my life. Uncle Aro loved to be over the top, but this was so tastefully decorated. I could tell Bella felt the same way. Her wide eyes took in everything and her eyes told me exactly what I was thinking. This was made to feel like a home, not just a space to sleep in or a museum where you couldn't touch or use the "nice things."

Entering through the door, I saw a living room on the right and a kitchen on the left. They guided us toward the living room, which was rich in hues of brown tones and an accent wall painted in a navy blue. The walls surrounding the place were made to feel welcoming, not constricting.

Everyone sat down and they all looked at us in question. We did owe them an explanation. Given my previous behavior, which I was quite ashamed of, I just couldn't find the words to describe a situation. How could we even begin?

Bella saved me. I think all the perspiration on my forehead spoke volumes. My hands were so clammy, that she removed her hand and wiped it conspicuously on her jeans.

"I know you weren't expecting to hear from us so soon. Truthfully, we weren't planning on contacting you until much later, when we were finally able to process all of the drama. The problem is that Aro's associates are after us. My guess is that they are interested in taking over the wealth of Aro's estate, which is all in Edward's name.

We need your help, even though we've done nothing to earn it, to stay out of public eye. Demetri is a very good tracker and probably knows where we are right now. Felix is a heavy brute that has skills in martial arts. He won numerous competitions before being recruited by Aro.

I think Aro told them where the money is and who has access to it. Neither of them are skilled enough to hack and transfer it electronically, so they'll probably come after us and force our hand.

Edward, do you think that's everything?" She finished.

I had no idea she had thought of that much. I was barely past them being after us and needing to hide while we figure it out. She's brilliant.

"Uh. Um..." My brain was not processing yet and her eyebrows furrowed in thought. I doubt I had ever been this scattered. It just didn't quite compute.

She turned back to them and we waited for them to just tell us to go to hell, that we're not worth this much work. We did leave when the going got tough, so there's no point in them agreeing.

I grabbed Bella's hand and stood up, about to apologize for asking and to leave before my family died in peril. We were losing time, that I was sure, and we needed to find a safe place to stay.

"Sit, Edward," my mother commanded. She eyes met mine and I was truly scared of her reaction. She put her hand on my father's knee and I sat down, putting Bella on my lap. I needed her to keep me calm, since I was pretty close to losing it. Twice in one day.

Her eyes darted between ours and softened when they came upon Winnie. "Of course we'll help you. Family is the most important thing and we finally found you. Besides your initial reaction, I think this is a positive thing. Yes, it is forced, but we'll learn about each other in the best way. We will work together to keep you safe." She nodded to herself and knew she spoke for everyone.

I wish I was a great leader like her. My heart constricted from the pain of losing them so early in my life and having to bond with them while ours lives were in danger.

The four of them got up and left us, saying goodnight. It was only 4pm, but the stress of the day caught up with us and we needed to just breathe. I looked at Bella and Winnie, calling her over to sit on the couch with us. I put my arms around them both, squeezing tightly and keeping my emotions locked down. To lose it now would not help. I had to be strong for them.

Bella's PoV

Edward's silent sobs were the only sound in the room. He was squeezing us tightly and I didn't think he knew his own strength. He probably didn't even know he was crying. His eyes were closed and my heart broke for whatever battle was raging inside of him. The man had gone through so much in one day.

We needed a plan. But first, we needed each other. We spent the rest of the day in each other's company, playing cards, watching TV, or just talking about Winnie's latest adventures that she had with them.

We avoided the elephant in the room. We knew tomorrow would entail planning on the defense and offense. It would be exhausting and I wondered just how long this running for our lives would take.

It seemed so odd to have had such a nice, peaceful existence for so many years, only for it to possibly come crashing down so quickly. But, I loved my family and would do anything for them. I would lay down my life and I knew they would do the same. Hopefully, that would never happen.

We finally went to bed. I waited until Edward's breathing evened out before carefully getting out of bed. I couldn't sleep. I left our suite and went to the kitchen, hoping a cup of hot chocolate would soothe my nerves.

"I couldn't sleep, either." I jumped from the sound, my hand went straight to my chest in response. I turned to the right and saw his mother standing at the doorway. "Sorry to have surprised you. I guess it's a mother's instinct to have the situation running through your mind until you find a solution."

I nodded. "Yes, I agree. So, do you have any ideas?" I just couldn't figure it out. Why now? Why, at all? Money couldn't have been the only reason. It defies logic.

"I've been asking myself all of these questions that I can see are going through your head, as well. Your eyes are very expressive and it's pretty easy to see when you're lost in thought. Maybe it's a mother to a mother thing. Perhaps you and I can brainstorm?" She looked hopeful and I wasn't sure why. I knew Edward was hesitant about this whole situation, but did I look like that?

"I agree. The men may try to take charge of the situation, and we all need to work together. I think you and I can put together a cohesive plan, yes?" She nodded in response, smiling at me and gesturing for us to sit at the breakfast nook.

"Ok, so let's make a list of what we know so far, ok?" That seemed reasonable. She grabbed some paper and made two columns. What we know and what we don't know.

What we know

What we don't know

Money is motive

Full motive

Who is behind this? Felix and Demetri

Who else?

Where/how will we hide? Here, for now, with disguises

Police are clueless

If police will help or deter us

Action plan:

Question Aro

Hack into police database to find out what Felix and Demetri saw

Make a list of suspects besides Aro, Felix, and Demetri

Scope out other locations to hide

Make an escape plan at each said location

With that, we planned to show the family members and see what to do from here.

* * *

Morning came and I felt kisses on my cheeks and nose. "Hmmpf, five more minutes...I don't wanna go to school today...I have a geometry test...more cheese, please. I like sharp cheddar. At the table..."

I heard chuckling and had no idea why the deli guy was laughing at me. The chuckling got louder and louder. I came out of my strange dream and opened my eyes. Edward's grin was wide and his smile reached his eyes. It was nice he could forget our lives were in peril for a few minutes before reality would set it.

"Wanna shower?" He wagged his eyebrows.

"Sure. I'll go first." I jumped out of bed and ran to the bathroom, locking the door quickly. He banged on the door, loudly protesting my wickedness.

"That's not what I meant and you know it!" he yelled. I laughed quietly so that he didn't get too upset and break the door down. He didn't need to hurt his shoulder on top of everything else.

After 15 minutes of a hot, relaxing shower, I got out and wrapped a towel around myself. I unlocked the bathroom door and peeked on both sides. The coast was clear and I ran to the walk-in closet. Safe!

I turned around, only to see my husband smiling at me devilishly. "Oh. Were you trying to hide?" he asked. He reminded me of a wolf that would blow my house down.

I leaned away, hoping he would just open the closet door and go to take his shower. We didn't have time for any extracurricular activities, based on what his mother and I came up with. After I said goodnight and went to bed, I thought of other things to put on the lists.

"My, my. What do we have here?" He looked me up and down, probably thinking of all the ways to devour me. I had to admit, I was beginning to think the same.

"Mom! Dad! I'm going to take a shower now!" Winnie called out. It was incredibly embarrassing that she knew we were in the closet. It was also slightly upsetting that got him out of his mood and, before I knew it, he raced out of the closet and beat her there.

"No way! Your mother probably used almost all of the hot water. I get as much of the rest as possible!" he yelled from behind the door. Lukewarm water was more important? Ridiculous. You'd have thought he'd be used to it by now.

"Mom!" Winnie screamed. "Are you going to seriously let him do that?"

I tightened my towel and exited the closet with as much dignity as I could muster. "Winnie, want me to fill you in on something?" She nodded slowly. "Sweetie, this building has an industrial grade water heater. It would take godzilla to shower before the hot water ran out." Her eyes bugged out and she grinned. She kissed me on the cheek in thanks and ran to another suite. I didn't know if my theory was true. I guess I'd find out soon.

An hour later, we were all in the kitchen eating breakfast. Tori and Jamie were quite the experts in preparing delicious meals. I'd never had such delicious eggs, hash browns, and pancakes. What did they put in them? The fresh squeezed orange juice was magnificent, although I didn't care for the pulp.

His mother called for everyone's attention and got straight to work, announcing what we came up with. We knew putting more heads together would help figure out a solution.

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	15. Chapter 15

**Sorry for the delay! Writing two books, at the same time, has got to be one of the most insane decisions I've ever made. All characters belong to Stephanie Meyers.**

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**Bella's PoV**

Edward used his mad techno skills, of which I wasn't aware of. It seemed his role in the mob was slightly more than he had previously led me to believe. It reminded me of how many lies he has told me in the past, right down to the first date.

Over the years, he has been honest. I think. I know he loves me with all his heart. Winnie, too. We'll see just how much he trusts us going forward. I'm sick of his evasion and will put my foot down tonight.

He found out that a couple of guys visited Aro monthly until quite recently. He hasn't had any visitors besides them. That was easy for us to trace down but sad that he has no one but his own selfish goons.

Edward traced all of the aliases they used and their banking accounts within a couple hours. He then transferred their money to various charities and froze the accounts. He also put a fraud alert against their social security numbers, in case they open any new accounts.

They had one account, in particular, that interested me. It was called Family and there was a safety deposit box attached to it. My curiosity grew and I decided to go visit. Edward added me as an account holder, so I wouldn't have any problem opening it.

Tori offered to go with me. Winnie wanted to go, but we needed to think clearly, in case something bad happens. I'd end up a martyr in order to protect her. Edward didn't want me to go at all but he had no choice. I knew, whatever I found there, would help us figure out what they were after.

His parents, I found out, were quite wealthy. They even had their own luxurious plane. So, they stayed in Hawaii while Tori and I boarded the plane to Minneapolis. The 5 hour trip would have normally been awful and cramped. Their plane was so nice. It had a plush couch, a table to eat at, and seats with plenty of room. They even had built-in pillows! Ah, the wonders of invention.

We'd have to borrow it for a vacation after all of this nonsense.

As I settled in my chair, I looked across the aisle at her. There was something nagging at me that I didn't want to say in front of the others.

"Spit it out." Either she could read minds or I had a horrible poker face.

"Why are you helping us? You call us family, but you don't know us at all. I know you spent time with Winnie while Edward and I were trying to desperately come get her. What's your deal?"

"You have a terrible poker face." That answered that question. "Family is everything. But that's not what you're really asking, is it?" She was really good.

"No, it's not. Have you ever contacted them?" I looked her in the eyes, hoping she would answer. Edward and I couldn't figure it out.

She blew out a breath and looked down. "It seemed like our family was shit. I didn't see any point in contacting distant cousins, you know? Edward's parents were a Godsend and we were lucky to have them in our lives. They could've had child services take us away, but they kept us and loved us."

"It makes sense. I appreciate your honesty." She looked up and smiled. I turned to look straight ahead and napped for the rest of the flight.

We arrived at MSP and rented a car. The account was in the boonies. We drove and drove, it seemed endless on these back roads. After a couple of hours south, we arrived in this tiny town. It had one main road that had a few mom-and-pop businesses. The sign welcoming us said the population was a grand 2,568. That seemed like a lot for something so small. There must be a lot of farmers with big families.

Tori found the bank and we parked to the side. She said to hide from any possible cameras. I doubted they had any real ones. The one I saw when we entered was made of plastic. It had no power light on it! I was pretty sure it was fake.

We walked over to a bald man with a large gut in an office. He was average, there was nothing that made him stand out. He would be an excellent spy. The office was freezing from the air conditioning and I could still see perspiration on his bald head. I saw a couple of fans, but they hadn't been turned on yet.

We introduced ourselves with our fake names and Tori did her magic. She smiled and made it seem like she found him attractive. She was blushing whenever he said anything to her.

Amazing. Hook, line, and sinker. He believed every lie that came out of her mouth.

After showing my fake ID that he didn't bother to verify, I was led into a viewing room that was dusty as hell. Did people put their stuff into these boxes and wait until the next generation opens them? The bank has been in business for 80 years. They actually believed me when I said the other account holder died in a plane crash, thus destroying the key.

Tori had to wait outside, which I actually preferred. The box opened with slight difficulty, so it had been quite a while before any looked in it. All this dust came flying at me and I sneezed three times in response. After the cover opened all the way and the dust settled, I was able to see many documents.

There were envelopes with many old pictures in black and white. Deeds to houses, passports and citizenship papers. As I looked through them, my breath caught in my throat.

Viktoria Olga Wilgo and Jose Ivan Hernandez Sanchez. Polish and Mexican? As I looked at them, it was like looking at relatives of Tori and Jamie. My heart began beating furiously and I looked through more documentation, knowing I couldn't bring it with me. Either Tori knew and was waiting to take it from me or she was totally clueless.

Since I didn't know her all that well, I was choosing the former.

I took pictures and sent them to Edward directly over text, warning him not to show them to anyone, including Winnie. I found jewelry, which I decided to take with me, as well as the deeds. I found several keychains and grabbed those, too.

I closed the dusty cover and knocked on the door, letting the guard know I was finished. He came in and locked the box back in place. I walked out, Tori in step with me. She kept sneaking glances at me and I wasn't sure if she was waiting to pounce on me or just curious to what I found.

I tried to smile but it probably came out as a grimace. "I didn't open it all," I lied, "and I figure we should open it together." She gave me a look that said she didn't believe me at all but she nodded and I was happy she was giving me space.

Either she and Jamie were Felix's relatives, or I was the queen of England.

We got back to Hawaii and, as we made our way through the doors, I felt so relieved. I was safe.

* * *

Edward ran to me, hugging me fiercely. Winnie stood by her grandparents, anxious to come to me but Edward wouldn't let me go. What was up with him?

"Edward, what's going on?" I whispered. He just whimpered and held me tighter. He had never been this clingy before, so what was going on?

As I pushed him away a little, I held one hand in his and motioned for Winnie in the other. "Let's go get some privacy," I whispered. They both nodded.

I looked to the others and feigned exhaustion. I knew the contents of the box were in my carryon and pretended to forget that I was going to share them. We walked down to our suite.

Getting through the door, I found several things in disarray and broken. Did someone break in or have a breakdown? I questioned my husband with my eyes, trying to figure it out.

"There are, ahem, listening and recording devices all over this building. To keep us safe." he spit out sarcastically. So, what? "We have no privacy, Bella! I destroyed as much as I found. Hopefully all."

Ah. That's why they were ok waiting for us to talk about the box later. "Ok. I need to go to the bathroom." I implored them with my eyes to join me.

Surely they wouldn't bug the bathroom?

I found a hole in the ceiling and the side near the toilet to be cracked. I guess I was wrong. I wondered if all of the devices were gone. "Yes, I definitely got them all in the bathroom. I'm not sure about the rest of the suite. They think I've cracked from the pressure." If I didn't know my husband so well, in that respect, I would've questioned his mental state, too.

I took out the paperwork and showed it to both of them. "Felix is related to your dear aunt and uncle, Edward. I don't know if they know it or not, but we need to be careful. Keep what you saw to yourselves. I will hide anything that proves the relation, just in case they are looking for that. Everyone understand?" I whispered.

They both nodded.

The three of us napped after that. I heard the door squeak open and kept my eyes closed. The rustling from my bag alerted me to what they wanted but I didn't dare open my eyes to find out who. The last thing I needed was to be outed.

When the door closed, I waited a few minutes before opening my eyes. When I did, I found my husband staring back at me.

"What was my mother doing in your purse?"

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	16. Chapter 16

**Sorry for the delay! Writing two books, at the same time, has got to be one of the most insane decisions I've ever made. All characters belong to Stephanie Meyers.**

**Bella's PoV**

As soon as Edward confirmed his mother's involvement, I got worried. I thought she and I were on the same page? Hmm.

I went back to my bag and checked if anything was missing. It didn't look like it, although there's no telling if she took it, made copies, and then put it back or not. Or, perhaps it was to satisfy her own curiosity or light reading. Either way, we needed to be more careful in where we placed our trust. Winnie was still naive enough to accept them in full, without question because of their relation.

I, however, did not. My danger thermometer was screaming to get the hell out of there and find a place all on our own, but I knew we'd be toast. Either Felix &amp; Demetri would find us, or my in-laws. At this point, I wasn't sure who was more dangerous.

I sat up on the bed, my back was against the headboard. Edward mimicked me, his posture just as rigid and tense as mine. We were in completely uncharted territory. What do all of these people want with us, from us?

"Bella, I don't know what to do," Edward whispered. I felt so bad for Edward. He was blaming himself for all of this, when none of it was his fault. I could see the sadness and guilt in his eyes. After being married for so long, though, I'd learned how to snap him out of any mood, brooding included.

"Edward, get ahold of yourself. We have to figure out what to do on our own," I whispered. I hoped like hell there were no more microphones. I decided to test the theory. "Edward, I think we should leave immediately. We need to take our stuff and go. I don't like it here and I don't think it's safe." I tried to convey for him to play along. His eyebrows knitted but then he got the hint. I wasn't as good of an actor as him, but I'd do anything to get us safe.

"Bella, you're right. We should go. Let's not take anything besides your purse with us and we'll leave after breakfast. Yeah?" That would definitely force their hand to act. I nodded in agreement.

"Alright, let's go eat. Winnie must be over there already."

* * *

We walked into the kitchen and everyone was there. Winnie sat at the table with Tori and Jamie. Ed and Elizabeth were talking quietly as she was cooking some eggs. I cleared my throat, since no one appeared to have noticed our arrival. Everyone snapped their heads to the doorway, where we stood.

"Uh, hi. Erm, good morning. Yeah." Edward eyed me, checking if I was truly awake. I glared at him. Granted, my entrance to the kitchen wasn't exactly graceful, but it beat his silence!

He and I sat down at the breakfast bar after everyone grumbled out a good morning back to us. It was awkward. Elizabeth gave me a small smile and I hoped that she bought the smile I gave right back at her. The furrowed brows told me I had no acting skills what-so-ever.

"So, I was thinking to have a day to relax. It has been so stressful, don't you think?" Elizabeth gave us our out, without even knowing so.

"I think that would be wonderful," I agreed with slight enthusiasm, while I was doing hurrahs inside. "Edward, Winnie, and I need a little family time to ourselves. What do you think, Edward? A walk to the park would be nice, as long as we're wearing disguises?"

He smiled at me in agreement, and then at his parents. His acting skills were still rock solid. They bought it.

"Well, that's settled then! Ed, Tori, and Jamie need to make plans for the next part of the plan, so we'll be in the living room if you need us." This almost seemed too easy, but I tried to keep myself in check.

We finished breakfast and walked out of the kitchen with Winnie. We grabbed some wigs and did some make-up. I was very impressed with Winnie's ability. She always was an overachiever. I grabbed my purse and we were ready to go.

Once we walked briskly to the park, my eyes darted around to watch if I recognized anyone. Edward was doing the same while Winnie just enjoyed the fresh air. There was no one that screamed danger, besides a little old lady with blue hair, so we grabbed Winnie's hands and high-tailed it out of there. We dragged her to a tour boat, making sure no one was following us and paid for it in cash, not wanting any trace of our escape.

"Are you going to tell me what's going on?" Winnie crossed her arms over her chest, waiting for an explanation. Her eyes met mine and I knew I had to tell her something.

"Winnie, I can't tell you everything right now, but please trust us. We're your parents and have your best interests at heart. We aren't safe with anyone but ourselves. Please just don't fight us on this," I implored. Her angry eyes softened and she nodded in agreement.

When we docked at the other island, we hurried to the airport and paid for a private jet to Los Angeles. I didn't want to take any chances. We couldn't take the risk of getting caught now that we made our escape. I had no idea why we couldn't trust his parents, but I had to go with my gut feeling. We were able to take out quite a bit of money from our accounts in cash and in traveler's checks before the jet left.

Once in Los Angeles, we shopped and bought brand new clothes, jewelry, and shoes. We ditched anything we were wearing at his parent's house, right down to Winnie's barrettes. They may have put GPS tracking on any of it, I wouldn't put it past them.

We took a cab to the bus terminal. If we stayed put, we'd surely be found. The bus leaving next was to Phoenix. We got on it quickly and found a private area to talk in. No one was near us, but we whispered anyways. We filled Winnie in on what we knew so far, as paranoid as it sounded. Her eyes glistened with tears and then she made my blood run cold.

"Mom, Dad, it all makes sense. How did I not see it?" She was talking to herself, but we waited for her to continue. "The entire time we waiting for you both to show up, they kept asking me questions about my life and wanted to know as much as possible. I thought they were interested in me, but it was just a way to collect information. I'm so sorry, I told them everything." She put her face in her hands and began crying.

Edward and I stiffened as we tried to figure out our next step. If they knew how we behave, they could easily predict our movements. We were doomed, if that was the case. We looked at one another, coming to the same conclusion.

"I know!" She startled us and I may or may not have jumped a few feet in the air. "Since I was the one who told them so much, they only know what they heard and saw for a few days. Let's put ideas into a box and, when we pick each idea, we do the exact opposite of what it says?"

I had to admit, it sounded like the right thing to do. Edward seemed to agree, too. "Winnie, that's genius!" he gushed.

Really?

I cleared my throat, getting us back to Earth. "Winnie, that's a very good idea. Why don't we take a piece of paper, each, and start writing down things to do?" If it was up to them, they'd get distracted and we wouldn't get anything done.

After throwing a bunch of ideas into the box, we shuffled it and I drew the first paper.

"Buy a magic 8 ball."

My head snapped up and I glared at them both. I wasn't 100% sure, but my guess was Edward on this fine contribution.

"Ok, so what's the opposite of a magic 8 ball?" I asked.

"I know! I know!" Winnie raised her hand, stretching as if it could touch the sky.

"Ok," rolling my eyes, "hit me."

"We go to a pool hall! They have black 8 balls there!" It made sense and it didn't, but I'd got with it. When we did this little project, I figured we'd choose places to move to, not places to visit.

"Ok! That settles it!" Edward clapped his hands loudly and rubbed them together. 99% sure it was his idea.

That is how I found us to be in a casino. We couldn't find a pool hall to go to, so we figured a casino would be the next place we could find a pool table. People bet on this, didn't they?

We walked through slots, card tables, craps, roulette, and a bunch of other games I couldn't name. However, we found a whole lot of nothing when searching for a pool table.

Back to square one.

We checked into a hotel that was across from the casino. I was completely prepared to be Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Black, and Winnie was going to be Vanessa.

In the end, we didn't need to, since Edward charmed the gay man at the check-in counter in the lobby into skipping the ID check. My husband's pretty came in handy.

In the morning, Edward drew a piece of paper from the pile.

"Build an underground fortress." My bet was Winnie, this time.

"So, I guess we're visiting a skyscraper?" That was the only thing that made sense.

We went, we did, we came back. I'd had it by the end of the day.

"We're not getting anywhere! We need to hide, not go out to places. Let's take a vote on where to go next and we'll try to hide in plain sight, ok?" The severity of our situation hit them.

Three pieces of paper were put into a box. Shuffling, I grabbed one of them.

"Stay."

I looked at them and shook my head. I grabbed the next paper.

"Forks, Washington." I shook my head again, that was a horrible idea! Of course the bad men would be watching that place.

I pulled the remaining paper out, knowing my idea was the only way.

"Sailing." We could still exist and stay off the grid, only docking to replenish food and things. I would've loved to go back to our island, but that wasn't possible, which made me wonder if we'd ever see it again.

It was decided to go to San Francisco and buy a boat there. Before leaving Phoenix, we took out another large amount of money, in case someone didn't want a check that may be tracked to them.

Fair enough.

We found an old man with a medium sized boat. It could hold the three of us with no problem. His only request was to have his grandson clean the boat whenever we docked there. We agreed.

After paying him $60,000 in cash, we were the proud owners of said boat. We got everything ready and sailed off on our safety voyage.

Now, it's time to put it all together and figure this out. I want to go back to the peace we had on our island.

The three of us went inside and sat at a table. I got out the contents from the safety deposit box and printed copies of the photos. After organizing it all, I took a deep breath and looked at both of them in anticipation.

Good thing I didn't hold my breath. I sat and waited. And waited. Finally, Edward spoke up.

"Bella, this might be even bigger than Uncle Aro." At my raised eyebrow, he continued. "Remember the politician Uncle Aro always spoke with over video in his office? What if they, whoever they are, wanted to get rid of anyone who was affiliated with him? I mean, it could be the politician, his wife or whatever, but I think..."

The man may just be brilliant. I kissed him before realizing how inappropriate it was becoming in front of our daughter.

"So," I began, "let's pretend you're right. Felix and Demetri are just hired guns? It would make sense, they may receive the forwarded money from whoever they kill, but this is bigger. I think you're right. Let's put it together. We know Aro was convicted of extortion. Let's look up from whom and set up the timeline."

We got our laptop out and looked up the conviction.

"Just as I thought! Congressman Jasper Whitlock from Houston, Texas. Hmpf! As ultra-conservative and Republican as it gets. Why would he want to associate with Uncle Aro?" I nodded in agreement.

"That still doesn't explain the deeds and stuff from the safety deposit box," Winnie pointed out. It hadn't occurred to me that any of this may be linked together. What kind of crazy coincidence would that be?

Maybe it's not a coincidence at all.

* * *

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